BookWorm - A MariChat May Adventure
by LyraMaeArcher
Summary: After taking Ladybug's earrings and trying to get his ring, the Akuma threw herself at the dark portal, pulling Chat into the void along with her. His body hit hard ground with a grunt. Eyes wide with surprise, he stared at the girl who had thrown herself at him so recklessly in the middle of the battle. Marinette? And where were they? A #MariChatMay Adventure.
1. No Powers

"I am the BookWorm!" exclaimed the small statured women dressed in a similar fashion to the stereotypical librarian - brown hair twisted into a severe-looking bun on the top of her head, glasses perched on her nose, and a sweater vest pulled over a white collared blouse. The only thing that marked her as unusual was her skirt, full-bodied and white, covered in constantly moving type print. It looked almost alive, catching the attention of anyone she walked near. If Ladybug hadn't been so distracted by the somewhat foolish antics of her grinning blond haired partner, she, too, would have likely been curious about the skirt and the text that flowed across it like eyes moving quickly through a book. Even if it was just out of professional curiosity to check out an amazingly unique piece of fashion.

Ladybug, however, was all but rolling her eyes at the boy in black beside her, making puns about literature with a twinkle with his green coloured eyes.

"Feel free to check ME out next time you need something to read," he purred at her. "And then you can talk wordy to me."

"Focus, Chat!" she reprimanded, groaning as she pointed towards the woman on the street. He cocked his head to the side slightly, smirking, before turning to look at the Bookworm.

Calling for her Lucky Charm, Ladybug stared at the item that dropped into her hand with slight frustration. A balloon? Frowning, she quickly glanced around for clues on how to use it. As objects around her popped into place, Ladybug made her plan quickly, nodding at Chat Noir who just shrugged before grabbing his baton.

Knowing his role was ideally to be a distraction to the Akuma while Ladybug did her thing, he launched himself off the roof and rolled onto the street below, ending in a deceptively casual lean on his staff.

"Hey, Bookworm!" he called, voice ripe with cockiness. "I bet you love posting shelfies on Instagram!" Eyes narrowing on the young man with cat ears, the Akuma grumbled slightly, before opening the book she held in hands. Her mouth moved slightly as if she were murmuring the words to herself.

"You know…." continued Chat, noticing a flash of red in his peripheral vision, determined to keep the Bookworm's attention until his lady was ready for whatever she had planned. "I have been reading this book about anti-gravity. I just can't seem to put it down."

The villain didn't even bat an eyelash as she continued to murmur quietly.

"Aww, come on! That was a good one!" he whined slightly, deciding it was time to change tactics. Pulling himself out of his lean, he moved his baton in front of himself and prepared to attack.

As he took his first offensive step forward, Ladybug slid in from his left, leaning heavily against him as she landed with a small grunt, nearly knocking him over. In her hand, she held a contraption he couldn't quite decipher. The other hand gripped onto her yo-yo.

"Hold this!" she barked, thrusting the contraption at him before creating a complicated slingshot type weapon out of her yo-yo. "Put it in here!" she gestured awkwardly to the pouch place that she had fashioned in the middle. Doing as he was told, she braced herself against him to pull it backwards in the Akuma's direction.

His heart beat wildly in his chest as her black pigtails fluttered against his cheek while she pressed against him, but he held himself strong to support her efforts. She launched the creation towards the Bookworm, watching with anticipation as it soared towards their opponent.

The look on Ladybug's face was nothing short of shocked horror as the contraption vanished into a bubbly looking circle that appeared over the BookWorm's head, providing none of the expected results to allow them to grab the akumatized book out of the woman's hands.

As the two heroes stood frozen in surprise for a moment, the Bookworm took advantage of her opportunity. With a single gesture of her hand in their direction, words flew off her skirt to wrap themselves around both teens like tentacles.

Yelping, Chat pulled back against the swirling text and attempted to break free from its grasp. A single laugh escaped the lips of the Akuma before an arm sweeping gesture caused the chain of words to launch Chat Noir into the air and over a rooftop.

Text squeezed Ladybug tighter, pinning her arms to her side as she attempted vainly to wriggle free. Face lit with a purple glow and eyes shining with anticipation of success, BookWorm moved closer to the girl in the red spotted suit.

"Your story is over, Ladybug," the librarian cooed happily. "I get your miraculous." Ladybug tried to twist her head away from the outstretched fingers that reached for her earrings, but with her body trapped there was nothing to do. Kicking harder with more desperation, praying silently for her partner to bound back into the fray before it was too late, Ladybug could feel the first of her two earrings coming loose. A pink, tingling glow began to envelop her body as she felt Tikki's magic start to fade.

"No!" she ground out between grit teeth, frantically thrashing her head back and forth. The BookWorm just chuckled as more of the text from her skirt rose up Ladybug's throat and over her chin to hold her head still.

"There, there, buggy. It will be over in a moment," soothed the woman, reaching up and unclasping the second spotted earring. The transformation fell, leaving behind the unmasked face of a young teenaged girl with tear-filled blue eyes. "Thank you, young lady. You were an amazing protagonist. And now, for Ladybug's story… it is the end."

With a casual wave, the Bookworm released the text from the former superheroine, dropping her to the ground with a soft thump. Scrambling quickly to her feet, the girl threw herself at the woman, desperate for the earrings and her little kwami friend Tikki who lived inside. There was no way Marinette could let Hawkmoth get those earrings.

With a screaming yowl, Marinette landed on the woman, scratching and kicking, only to be knocked back painfully against a wall. Collapsing to the ground, tears fell silently down her face as the realization of losing sunk in.

Straightening her sweater vest, the woman moved down the street in the direction where she had flung Chat Noir, the intention of gathering his ring all too clear.

"Tikki!" Marinette shrieked, trying to put her feet under her again. Fumbling, she groaned as her body ached from the collision with the bricks. Without the suit, she was weak. Her back of her head throbbed. A gentle touch to the spot revealed not only an egg-sized lump but also some blood. She gave up on her plan to chase the Akuma victim, allowing her body to lean awkwardly on the pavement as she leaned on the wall for support. The tears flowed freely now as sobbed wracked through her.

Tikki was gone. Marinette could do nothing to get her back. The villain had won and Hawkmoth would get her miraculous. She'd lost.

Gasping for air while bracing against the pain in her body and head, Marinette couldn't stop the hopeless wailing that came out of her.

"That's IT, Wormy. I've had it!" boomed a voice off to the other side of the villain. Marinette slumped slightly, catching herself mid-cry to breathe a small sigh of relief, recognizing the voice of her partner. He stood in a strong defensive stance, legs apart and baton gripped tightly in his hand. He could get her earrings back.

BookWorm laughed, throwing the word tentacles out to grab him again. Using his baton as both a pole vault to keep out of danger and knock text out of the way, Chat attempted to scan around for his Ladybug. As a stream of words crashed into his shoulder and knocking him off balance enough to stumble, he heard his opponent chuckle maniacally.

"I've got her earrings, you foolish cat," she crowed. Chat's eyes widened in momentary panic as her words sunk in before a dark look crossed his face. "Now for your ring." A multitude of words streamed from her skirt at her command- surrounding him in an attempt to pin him down.

"Where is she!?" Chat hissed, emerald eyes glinting dangerously, as he viciously countered each new tentacle that got close to him. He easily threw himself around in a series of gymnastic flips and bounds as he made a circle around the woman, attention divided between the librarian attacking him and a frantic search for Ladybug.

From one corner of the park where the fight was, he caught a quick glance of Alya, racing into the space with her camera already trained on the battle - streaming live likely - without a care for her own safety. Another set of text made attempted to wrap its way around his waist and he smashed it with his baton, causing the letters to skew and disconnect from the rest of the sentence. He continued his scan of the area, desperate to find Ladybug.

Word line after word line flailed around him, grasping at his arms, legs, shoulders, head. Frustrated, he threw his baton at the woman, causing her to stumble backwards slightly. The text from her skirt stopped for a moment, allowing him to race forward, grab the baton off the group in front of her, and knock her to the ground. Placing his baton back in its holder, he moved closer.

She grinned at him with a cold smile, sending a shiver up his spine as he stood over her, attempting to pry her book from her grasp. Slowly, letters ravelled themselves up his legs and around his hips, pinning him in place as they travelled upwards.

Instincts took over as they moved up his torso, and Chat quickly pulled his ring hand against his chest, curling it protectively into a fist.

"No." he ground out, clasping it tightly against his body. "You can't have it."

The librarian laughed heartlessly as the text crawled its way towards its prize. "Oh, I will," she breathed in anticipation, face glowing with Hawkmoth's signature purple.

Suddenly, a body crashed against Chat's, wrapping itself around him with tight arms and legs, trapping his ring hand between them.

BookWorm hissed and the words that had been twisting around him squeezed harder. Chat yelped slightly as the pressure felt like it was going to cut off his legs. His eyes connected with those of his attacker, watching with horror as she opened her book and started to read in a soft mumble. A bubbling dark circle appeared beside her.

"FINE!" yelled the enemy with a roar. "Let's try it this way!" The woman slammed her book closed with a loud noise, giving him a frigid stare that somehow managed to twinkle with the exciting promise of what was about to happen.

It was so fast, he had no time to prepare himself. The woman threw herself at the dark portal, disappearing into it. The text wrapped around him tugged as she vanished, pulling him into the void along with her. Instinctively, he used his one free arm to hold the body around him protectively as they fell through the gap.

Light and dark vanished in a swirling mist of undecipherable colour. It felt like he was flying, or falling, or maybe he was standing still and the world around him was moving. He clung to the person who still held onto him, not sure which way was up or down. Scrunching his eyes shut, he curled his head into the soft shoulder of whoever was wrapped around him, hoping the world would stop spinning soon.

As quickly as it began, it stopped. His body hit the hard ground with a grunt, shooting pain through his back. Thankful for the suit that absorbed most of the shock, he opened his eyes. The air around him was thick with a coloured fog, making it impossible to see.

The arms that had latched themselves to his neck slowly came loose as the person shifted and rolled to the ground beside him. He turned his head as a soft, feminine voice groaned. Eyes wide with surprise, he stared at the girl who had thrown herself at him so recklessly in the middle of the battle.

Marinette?

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_Author's Notes: Thank you so much for reading my story :) I'm having a great time writing it. I'd love to know what you think! _  
_Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to anything related to Miraculous Ladybug - I am just a fan writing a story about the characters I've grown to love. All rights belong to Zag and Thomas Astruc._


	2. It's All Greek To Me

Blue eyes met green as Marinette turned to look at him.

"You ok, Chat?" she asked, red-rimmed eyes filled with a combination of worry and something he couldn't quite define. He frowned slightly. Why had she thrown herself at him to protect his ring from BookWorm? What had her so upset?

Pushing against the sand beneath him to sit up, he nodded. When she did the same, she groaned, her hand moving up to the back of her head.

"Are YOU ok?" he countered, reaching out to tenderly touch the spot she had. She winced slightly, pulling away. He wasn't quite sure that he believed her when she nodded, but he moved his hand away to brush himself off and get to his feet. The thick mist swirled around them, fading slowly as Marinette rose to join him.

As it cleared, the two of them gaped at the brightness that surrounded them - vivid colours bursting out from all around. They were standing on a beach, the sand a golden yellow that twinkled in the sunshine while the brilliantly teal coloured water beside them lapped against the shore with a soft swish. To the other side was a thick forest of trees, tall skinny trunks reaching high into the sky with a green so bright that it almost seemed to glow covering the ground at their bases and the leaves among the tops.

"Where are we?" breathed Marinette, looking around them in awe. "It's so beautiful!" Tilting her face up to the sky, she closed her eyes, threw back her head, and smiled as the sun washed over her. He couldn't help but smiled as well, pleased by how happy she looked.

"I'm not sure where we are," Chat began, looking around for clues of where they had landed. "BookWorm seems to have vanished though, so I guess I have to find her somewhere." That killed the mood. The smile on her face dropped quickly to a sad frown.

"Ya, I guess we do, Kitty," she murmured, absentmindedly reaching one hand up to her ear to rub the now-empty space where her miraculous had been. "We have to get the earrings back from her."

He made a funny sound as he eyed her, opening his mouth to ask her if she had seen what had happened to Ladybug when a shout down the beach drew his attention.

Running towards them was a small group of men, their strong bodies covered in dully-coloured fabrics that draped off their shoulders and ended mid-thigh with a belted waist. They were a shocking contrast to the brilliant colours of nature around them. Each of them held weapons - either a spear or a sword.

As they approached the pair, Chat grabbed Marinette and pushed her behind him, pulling his baton out in front of himself and extending it to staff length before setting his body into a defensive stance. Marinette kept herself close behind him, peeking around his arm to see.

The men stopped just out of attack range, curious expressions on each of their faces at the sight of a young teen in a full-body black suit, mask, and cat ears with a girl hiding behind him. The leader, a tall man of incredible strength with dark hair that curled around his ears, took a step forward.

"Well, you are the most unusual thing to have washed up on this beach," he laughed. "Who are you two?"

Chat wasn't sure if he should answer or not - torn between years of training to respect and respond and his need to protect himself and Marinette. Seeing the boy's hesitancy, the man laughed again and decided to introduce himself first.

"I am Odysseus of Ithica. These are my men." Extending his arm, Odysseus waited patiently for a response.

"Odysseus?" echoed Chat, his voice laced with confusion. Marinette looked up at him, seeing a frown on his face. Nudging him gently, she urged him to answer.

"I'm Chat Noir," the boy said, pulling himself to his full height - which was sadly small in comparison to the men in front of them. Grasping the other man's forearm, he nodded in Marinette's direction and introduced her as well. She stayed firmly behind her partner, feeling safer protected by his miraculous.

"Greetings, boy," Odysseus welcomed. "Come join us for some food." He gestured down the beach from where he had come from.

"Thank you, sir. We just need a few minutes to talk first, if that is ok?" asked Chat Noir. The man smiled and nodded, calling his men and jogging down the sand back to where the rest of them waited at their camp.

The minute the group was out of site, Chat let out a long breath, not fully realizing how tense he'd been. Putting his baton away, he turned around to face Marinette.

"So…. have you seen any of Greek Mythology movies, Princess?" he began, a mischevious glint shining in his eye. Marinette's eyes narrowed in response.

"No," she admitted hesitantly. His mouth immediately curled up into his trademark smirk.

"Well, you really Odyssey them," he purred, impressed with his own humour. Marinette rolled her eyes. "Aw, come on. It really wasn't THAT Apollo-ing."

Choosing to ignore his puns, Marinette began to put the pieces together.

"Ok, let's talk about what we know here, Chat. First, Ladybug and you were fighting an Akuma called BookWorm. The Akuma managed to get Ladybug's earrings." A dark looked passed over the girl's face as she paused. Shaking her head, Marinette continued. "When you came back, BookWorm tried to get your ring too, but when that didn't work out, she opened some kind of … portal thing? And when she jumped through it, we came too. Somehow that portal dropped us off here on this beautiful beach where we just happen to meet Odysseus - the main character of the story The Odyssey."

She had started pacing back and forth on the beach, feet creating a trail in the sand as she mused over the details. Chat just watched her, one eyebrow cocked in amused response to her thinking.

"So, the portal thing, it must be like a gateway - into books! BookWorm!" The girl gasped at her revelation, staring at Chat with a shocked expression. "We're in a book." Panic started to fill her eyes and her body started to quiver.

"Deep breaths, Marinette," Chat soothed, seeing a potential meltdown in progress. "We'll figure this out."

"We're in a BOOK, Chat!" she yelled, arms flailing as she started to pace frantically. "How are we getting out of a BOOK!?"

Grabbing her upper arms, Chat stopped her rant and forced her to look at him. "Stop panicking," he ordered, staring straight into her eyes until he could see the panic level lower and she took a deep, calming breath. He let his hands drop from her arms.

"Ok, so…. We know that we are in the story The Odyssey, but not what part we are in. We know that the BookWorm brought us here for some reason - probably planning to get my ring." His hand flexed unconsciously. "Did you see her take Ladybug's earrings? Was Ladybug ok?"

Marinette's face paled, a series of almost indefinable emotions crossing it in a fleeting moment before she croaked out a broken yes in response.

"She's ok. But without her earrings -" Marinette gulped down a sob that threatened to spill out. Tikki was gone. Again, her hand fluttered to touch her empty earlobe. Chat wondered at the movement but figured she was just feeling empathetic for Ladybug.

"Good," Chat nodded, thankful that Marinette had seen that his lady was safe - wherever she'd ended up. Even without the earrings, she'd be ok. He just had to get back to her. That meant finding BookWork and getting her back to Paris with the stolen Miraculous so that he could return them back to Ladybug.

"Ok, let's go join Odysseus and his men. Maybe we can get some ideas on how we're going to get back to Paris. Just…. Don't mention Paris. You know…. Troy and all." His smirk returned, making Marinette shake her head.

"Silly Kitty," she laughed, and together they started walking down the beach in the direction that Odysseus had gone.

The group of Greek soldiers were busy loading a large wooden boat with supplies, obviously eager to get to sea. Odysseus was shouting out commands of his men, motioning in different directions to guide their progress. Catching the sight of the young teens, he waved them over.

"Come! We are just getting our boat ready for the morning!" he explained. The men all paused in their work to examine the pair. "Men! This boy is Chat Noir. He and the girl will be joining us on our journey. The Gods sent them to this beach."

"The girl has a name," muttered Marinette irritably beside Chat, causing him to chuckle slightly before he headed off to lend a hand.

By nightfall, the ship was loaded and the men were all casually lounging around the beach near a raging fire, enjoying their last night on land before setting sail. Marinette sat close to Chat Noir, feeling a little nervous being surrounded by so many strong, full-grown men without Tikki's protection.

There was much chatter and storytelling of the adventures the men had endured so far - the battle for Troy, an encounter with a cyclops, lotus blossoms that were incredibly powerful drugs, a trip to the Underworld. Chat and Marinette sat amazed at the stories, laughing alongside Odysseus and his men as they jovially ribbed each other over their various exploits.

As the fire died down and the men settled down for the night, laying down in the sand with blankets pulled over themselves, Chat felt Marinette's head lean against his shoulder. Looking down at her, he could hear her gentle rhythmic breathing and realized she had fallen asleep. Smiling, he scooped her up with both hands and carried her to the blankets that Odysseus had set out for them. Making sure she was safely tucked in, he stepped into the darkness of the forest to a place where he could still watch her while staying out of sight and released his transformation.

"UGH," squawked Plagg, tumbling out of the ring and flopping to the grassy sand below. "I'm never going to get any cheese here!" Adrien shook his head at the predictable whine and sighed quietly at his kwami, reaching into the pocket of his shirt to pull out the only slice of Camembert he had on standby. Plagg sprung off the ground and swiped it out of Adrien's fingers with glee, gulping the triangle cheese in a single mouthful. "Ahhh, sweet Camembert. How I love you."

"So kid, tell me what's going on? Any idea where Tikki is?"

Adrien frowned, sitting down on the ground and putting his arms around his knees, contemplating the situation.

"No, Plagg. I don't know. I haven't seen any sign of the Akuma here yet. I don't even really know where 'here' IS yet. And I definitely have no idea how I'm supposed to get us home without Ladybug or Tikki." It felt good to complain for a minute. Trying to be strong for Marinette was exhausting when he really just wanted to panic himself. "Got any great ideas, Plagg?"

The little cat creature stared at his Chosen thoughtfully with green glowing eyes, considering his options.

"Marinette's with you, right?" he asked finally. Adrien squinted at his kwami, annoyed.

"Yes, why?"

"Things will be fine then," Plagg grinned, making Adrien more confused than before. "I'm taking a nap." And with that, Plagg curled up inside Adrien's shirt and fell asleep, prompting the boy to follow suit and stagger to his space beside Marinette and do the same.


	3. Kittens & Their Ears

When the light of the rising morning sun hit his face, Adrien quietly called Plagg to transform him before Marinette could see who he was. Rolling over, he reached out his hand and gently shook her shoulder while calling her name. She let out a long groan, pulling the blanket tightly over her head.

He laughed quietly, knowing that Marinette was never a morning person. Her track-record for showing up at school at the last possible second could vouch for that.

Glancing around, Chat noticed that Odysseus and his men had started stirring as well, many of them chewing quietly on various fruits and bread to start the day. They were eager to get going - the lure of family and home a strong one after being away for so long.

Time to get Marinette up and moving, or they'd be stranded on this beach when the men decided it was time to jump on the ship and leave.

"Get up, Princess, it's time to go sailing," he said, leaning close to her ear. "We need to get on that ship to find the Akuma so we can go home!"

After another disapproving groan and a weak attempt to shove him away, Marinette finally sat up, pulling the blanket around her tightly as she blinked slowly awake. Her responses to any morning conversations were restricted to a series of non-specific grunts and monosyllabic words. Somehow Chat managed to get her to eat something and even took a moment to examine her head that had been injured the day before. The bump was almost gone, which made Chat more than happy.

Before long, Odysseus ordered his men to push the ship off the shore and start to row. Marinette and Chat Noir found a safe space near the back of the ship to sit out of the way of the busyness that sailing a ship required, sitting side-by-side as the men worked away.

"Have you ever been on a boat before?" asked Marinette quietly, looking a little green around the edges when the men unfurled the sails and the ship caught the wind.

"Yep," admitted Chat. His privileged life had given him plenty of opportunities to experience many things. "You gonna be ok?"

She nodded, looking off into the distance, lost in thought. Chat took a moment to look over his friend. She looked sadder than he'd seen her be in the past. Marinette was usually a happy-go-lucky ball of barely contained energy but this experience seemed to be weighing on her. He really needed to get her home.

"Do you think we'll get home?" she suddenly murmured, leaning against him with her head on his shoulder.

"I will do everything I can to get us home, Marinette. I promise." He knew it was true. Marinette was one of his best friends, even if she didn't realize it was him behind the mask. Putting his arm around her shoulder, he gave her a comforting squeeze. They sat in silence together, listening to the sounds of men talking together, the sails flapping in the wind, and the waves gently lapping the boat as it pushed its way through.

The day drew on - time only measurable by the sun's position in the sky - and Chat found his thoughts wandering, replaying the Akuma fight over and over in his head, angry with himself for not protecting Ladybug the way that he was supposed to. He had failed her and now she had lost her earrings. He had almost lost his ring. If Marinette hadn't jumped in to trap his ring hand, BookWorm could have won. He shivered a little at the idea. Giving Hawkmoth the power to do whatever he wanted while holding both miraculous was a terrifying thought.

He was pulled out of his self-deprecating internal monologue by a shout. All of a sudden, the men jumped into action, pulling in the sails. Odysseus stood leaning against the front of the boat, looking off to the horizon with a deep look of thought.

Chat jumped to his feet, glancing the same direction and was stunned by the island in the not too far distance. The way that the afternoon sun was hitting the flowered meadows made it look like it was glowing with golden brightness. Contrasting with the grey coloured sea around it, the island looked unbelievably beautiful. Chat felt a tug on his soul, making him wish they could pull the boat ashore and enjoy the wonders there.

It seemed like many other of the men felt the same, begging their leader to land, but he cut them off abruptly with a sharp no.

"We will not be stopping. We have to go past it as fast as possible. That is the island of the Sirens. Circe warned me about them. They are beautiful but deadly." He paused before striding across the deck to a bag he had tucked under a bench. Pulling a lump of something yellow out of the bag, he turned to look at his crew.

"Each of you take some of this," he ordered, handing it out to everyone. It was thick beeswax. "Sirens look like beautiful women who sit beside the ocean, combing their long golden hair and sing to passing sailors. But, if you hear them sing, you will be bewitched and drawn to the shore - where you will die."

Marinette looked over at Chat who was staring at the small amount of wax he rolled between his fingers with a frown.

"Each of you is to seal your ears with this wax. Since we don't have enough for me, you need to lash me to the mast so I won't jump overboard and swim to my death. If I yell, fight against the ropes - make them tighter. Row like your lives depend on it and get us past that island alive!" continued Odysseus, taking a position at the base of the ship's mast and nodding at his men to tie him there.

"What's the matter, Chat?" asked Marinette softly as she warmed her chunk of wax in her hands. He looked at her with worried eyes.

"Well, you see…. I kind of have two sets of ears," he began. "One can't use wax." It took a minute for Marinette to understand before she realized that he would need to be lashed alongside Odysseus.

"It will be ok, Chat. I know it will."

He nodded unconvinced but shoved the wax he had into his human ears before stepping over to the mast and asking them to tie him up as well.

"Kittens have great hearing, you know, so I guess we're going to have to play this by ear," he quipped with a half-hearted grin, earning himself a glare from Marinette who was shoving her own wax earplugs in place.

When everyone's ears were protected and the lashings were tightened on the men against the mast, the crew began to row in earnest. Marinette stood in front of Chat, keeping her eyes on him as they crept closer to the island's edge. The wax did its job - she couldn't hear anything other than her own breathing echoing through her head and the steady rhythm of her heartbeat. Suddenly, Chat's head snapped up, pupils blown wide as his cat ears twitched. His body tensed as he scanned the shoreline desperately. His eyes froze as he found whatever he was looking for, his breathing slightly erratic. Following his gaze, Marinette saw a group of oversized bird-like creatures sitting on the rocks, looking like they were screaming.

To Chat, the creatures weren't birds, but beautiful women with long golden hair that wrapped around their bodies like blankets. Their smile was alluring, eyes beckoning, and their voices raised in an angelic song that called to your soul. They sang to him of love, of value and worth, of the dream of freedom, promising to soothe the emptiness and loneliness that he kept hidden inside. Tears filled his eyes and he strained against the ties that bound him to the mast, trying to get free.

Marinette watched her partner with concerned eyes as he fought the restraints. A dark look passed over his eyes and his lips started to move. Her eyes snapping wide with the realization that he was calling Cataclysm, she slammed her hand over his mouth to stop the words. Heart racing, she felt him growl in protest as he pried his eyes off the beings that were attempting to sing him to their side and glared at her with fury.

"Stop, Chat, please!" she yelled. "It's going to be ok. Listen to my voice. You can do this. You need to just hold on a little longer. Don't use your power - please! Wait a little longer." His ears twitched again, pointing towards her. She watched his eyes as he looked to be struggling to focus on her voice. Tears were streaming down his face as he blinked, attempting to find her eyes. She kept talking, putting her hands on his arms and stepping closer so he could hear her better over the singing of the sirens. She reminisced about the times that he had helped her as Marinette. She rambled on about her favourite fashion designs and different kinds of fabric. She shared her fears about this adventure and how she really hoped they could find the Akuma and get home. She talked about her parents and the bakery. She shared funny stories about Ayla and Nino.

Beneath her hands, she could feel his muscles held in a constant state of flexed tension, as if he was ready to break free at any moment. He tried to keep his eyes on hers, but the lure to look back was too much and his gaze flittered back and forth.

Far too slowly the boat slid past the beautiful island and back out into the open sea. Even long after the tension had left his body and Chat had slumped against his ropes with an exhausted look, the crew continued to row. It was only when the island was no longer anywhere in view that they cut the lashes that had held both him and Odysseus through the whole experience.

Collapsing to the ground, the two men lay on the deck as they rested and recovered. Odysseus' men carefully tended the wounds that he had on his arms and body from straining so furiously against the ropes. Marinette gently took Chat's head into her lap, stroking his golden hair as he sobbed until the sun vanished beneath the horizon and the stars began to twinkle above them. Finally, his breathing fell into a soft rhythm of sleep and she slowly slid onto the deck beside him, grabbing a blanket to throw over the both of them as she curled into him and fell into an uneasy sleep.


	4. A Kraken Good Birthday

_NOTES: I got a bunch of comments about Marinette not needing wax against the Sirens in the last chapter because she was a woman. In truth, I originally didn't plan for Marinette to block her ears because I believed the same thing, but after researching more about the Sirens it looked more like they called to anyone. It was just that sailors in ancient Greece were men, so they didn't have any women to test it on! Since their songs were basically pulling on personal persuasion, I don't think it mattered about what gender they were. I decided that the plan was to be better safe than sorry so they included Marinette in with the wax plan!_

_Great feedback, though! :) Thanks for reading!_

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Morning arrived earlier than any of them were ready for, the rising sun piercing through the fog that hung low over the waves. The ship bobbed lightly as Chat groggily pushed himself off the deck. His head ached from such an emotionally draining evening. He looked down at where Marinette lay buried deep into the blanket, her face creased from where she'd pressed against the fabric in her sleep. It made him smile. She always took care of people in need. She really was special. A true friend with a heart of gold.

The crew were in various states of awake - some were already at work, stepping around the bodies of the men strewn all over the deck with ease as they prepared to man the sails and oars. Odysseus himself stood at the prow, arms crossed as he looked out at the open blue water.

Chat made his way to the front to stand beside the man, wondering how he was doing after their encounter with the Sirens.

"Morning, boy," greeted the man, his eyes not moving from their place on the horizon. "Survived the night, did you?"

"Yes, sir," answered Chat, a little shocked at the raspiness of his morning voice. For a moment, the two stood together quietly, each musing over their experience. Suddenly, the large man laughed loudly, slapping Chat across the back and making him stumble slightly under the unexpected impact.

"Can you believe it, boy? We made it past the Sirens. The only mortals to ever do so!" he bellowed proudly, pausing for a moment to eye the boy with the cat ears and mask. "If you ARE mortal?"

Smirking at the comment, Chat nodded. "Mostly, sir." That elicited another loud guffaw which ended up waking up the rest of the sleeping crew and Marinette.

The rest of the morning was spent with Odysseus ordering his men to raise the sails and get them on with their journey towards Ithaca, the ship pushing through the waves with impressive speed.

It was about mid-day when the wind died down and the ship drifted to a slow drift while the men took a break to eat some food. As he chomped casually on a chunk of bread, Chat wondered if there was any way to recharge Plagg while on the boat. His kwami would probably need to be fed again soon. Who was he kidding? Plagg always needed to be fed.

His eyes wandered over to Marinette, who sat closer to the front of the boat, talking in earnest with Odysseus about what he had heard from the Sirens. She had taken some time in the morning to pull her fingers through her tangled mess of hair and carefully tie them back into her signature pigtails. She still wore her favourite outfit - pink jeans, a white t-shirt with embroidered pastel flowers running up one side and over her shoulder, and a dark jacket with three-quarter sleeves, finished with soft pink flat shoes on her tiny feet. Sure, she was scuffed and dirty like they all were, but she still looked as adorable as always.

Resting his head back against the side of the boat, he closed his eyes, allowing the sun to warm his face while breathing in the intoxicatingly fresh smell of the salty sea. It wasn't until there was a loud thump against the keel of the ship that he opened his eyes again, wondering what they had bumped into. A whale, perhaps? That happened sometimes. He peered over the rail into the water below, trying to see if he could see the cause.

In what felt like slow motion, a recognizable string of letters slithered their way over the side and into the boat, followed by another, and another. Eyes wide, he jumped back, shouting for Marinette. BookWorm's text tentacles were quickly wrapping around Odysseus' ship like a monster rising out of the sea.

Odysseus' men jumped into action, weapons pulled from their storage spaces as they braced themselves for the attack. Marinette jumped over the arms that encircled the ship, tripping on one closest to Chat and tumbling against his side. Protectively, he caught her around the waist and tucked her against his back, protecting her with his body before grabbing his baton and bringing it into attack position.

Bookworm's body appeared from the water, completely and somewhat shockingly dry, her dark eyes raging angrily in their direction. Glancing at the rest of the crew, Chat noticed that the words had wrapped themselves around each of the men, rendering them useless. Odysseus himself had been forced back against the front of the boat, trying to keep the letters that were slinking closer and closer to grabbing him too.

Chat returned his attention back to the woman who was attacking them. Giving her more of an annoyed look than anything else, he fell back into his usual approach for dealing with Akumas. Humour.

"You know, I feel like I should Kraken some kind of joke here," he began, shooting Marinette a semi-smirk over his shoulder. "You really should have yelled something like 'Release the Kraken!' before you started - that would have been pretty epic."

BookWorm snarled, narrowing her eyes at the young man.

"Enough!" she yelled, "Give me your ring! Now!"

"I don't think so, Bookie. I kind of like my ring, thanks. But you can give me the earrings you stole from Ladybug. They look so much better on her than they would on you," he quipped back, searching her for any clue of where the miraculous may have been hidden without much success. From behind him, Marinette hissed angrily.

"Give me the earrings!" she shouted, stepping out from behind her partner with a dangerous glint in her eye. BookWorm let out a cold laugh.

"I told you. Ladybug's story is over!"

"Never!" screamed Marinette, her body rigid and hands balled into fists at her side. Chat looked over at her with a sense of surprise at her unusually strong response. Before he could really even take the time to process anything, one of the word strings lashed out, grabbing Marinette's legs and knocking her to the deck.

Chat reacted on instinct only, throwing his body over hers and pulling against the letters, trying to untangle her legs.

"No, Chat. Leave me - get her! We need to get the earrings back!" begged Marinette, shoving him off. He let loose a growl, throwing himself backwards and glaring at BookWorm. Odysseus, who had managed to fight his way down the ship, stepped in beside him.

"What is this creature, boy? Has Poseidon sent a beast to us?" he asked, his years as a warrior evident by the easy way his sword rested at the ready.

"Not exactly," responded Chat, "she kind of turned into a monster when she was mad, and stole something from a friend of mine. Now she wants to steal my ring. I cannot let her do that!"

Reaching down, Odysseus grabbed a spear off the deck and hurled it in a strong single fluid motion at BookWorm. The Akuma quickly moved to the side, dodging the throw, before screaming out in anger. Gesturing aggressively, she launched more words from her skirt and grabbed onto the hero, forcing him to the wooden floor despite his immediate thrashing in opposition.

Bookworm opened her leather-bound book and began to murmur again, eyes focused on the blond-haired cat boy who was looking around wildly for a plan. His body was in motion before he'd even fully put a plan together, running up the lines of text that travelled between the boat and her skirt, baton twirling beside him as he raced closer to his goal.

He lunged himself without thought, preparing to bring his baton down against the open book. If he could knock it free, he could break out the Akuma and save the woman, releasing them from the story and getting Ladybug's earrings back. But before he could land the blow, she slammed it closed and rested it back at her side, causing him to flail slightly at the loss of a target. A set of words knocked his momentum backwards, throwing him through the air towards the deck of the ship. He hit the wood with a solid thump, rolling into some of the crewmen who lay pinned helplessly to the floor. Rebounding instantly to his feet, he decided to follow the same plan again when suddenly he watched in horror as Marinette's body was tossed into the air and over the side of the boat with a scream. Like a rag doll, her body flopped around helplessly before it disappeared out of sight into the sea.

BookWorm let out a pleased cackle, taunting him to respond.

"NO!" yelled Chat, launching himself at the woman with grim intent, baton at the ready. As his foot pressed against the wooden rim of the boat, he looked down, hoping to catch even a slight glimpse of his friend. Instead of a wavy sea, he discovered one of BookWorm's bubbling portals. Twisting his trajectory mid-jump, he threw his energy into moving upwards instead of out, allowing himself to dive into the portal instead of attacking the Akuma. He couldn't leave Marinette wherever she had ended up.

As his body slipped through the opening, he heard BookWorm's frustrated screech. Looking over his shoulder, he watched as all the word tentacles she had strewn everywhere retreated back into her skirt and she allowed herself to tumble into the waiting hole after him.

Before he could do anything about it, the nauseating sensation of falling through space hit him with a jolt, forcing him to close his eyes and hope the landing would be soft. It felt longer this time. He wondered mindlessly if this is how Alice had felt when she'd fallen through the rabbit hole on her way to Wonderland. He prayed silently that he would find Marinette safe on the other side, in the same place as him.

A blast of cold air hit his face just before he plummeted into a large pile of white, fluffy snow. For a moment, he lay there stunned, allowing himself time to adjust to the change and settle his still falling stomach.

"Chat?!" he heard a familiar voice call out, springing him into action. He tumbled out of the snowbank to see Marinette standing with her arms wrapped around herself, shivering uncontrollably. He grabbed onto her and pulled her close to him, hoping to share some of his body heat, rubbing her arms to warm them.

"We need to find a place to get warm," he breathed, frost forming as the words left his lips. He looked back and forth for some evidence of their new location. His eyes spied a small, crooked building which looked like it could be some sort of house not too far from them. Smoke puffed out of the chimney, giving him hope of heat. Scooping Marinette up in his arm, Chat began to run carefully over the snowy group towards the house.

"Where are we, Chat? This isn't the Odyssey anymore," she asked through chattering teeth.

"I don't know yet, Princess," he admitted, nearly at the house. From inside they could hear some wavering voices singing out a familiar song. Happy Birthday. When the song ended, voices murmured behind the walls as Chat crept closer, his body nearly at the door.

"Open it, Charlie!" a wobbling female voice cried out. "Please open it. You're making me jumpy!"


	5. Starving for a Golden Ticket

The door was as decrepit and abused as the rest of the old wooden house, crookedly hung on rusty hinges. Chat knocked carefully as Marinette curled against him more closely trying to keep warm. The voices inside stopped talking, and a set of footsteps approached the door from the other side, pulling it slightly open before a gaunt face peered out curiously.

"Hello?" he asked, eyeing the young man dressed in a cat suit with a mixture of wonder and disbelief.

"Please, sir, may we come in? My friend is freezing out here," pleaded Chat, acutely aware of both Marinette's shivering and the chattering of her teeth. "We just need a place to warm up."

The man smiled politely and pulled the door open to invite them in.

"Of course. We don't have much, but we can offer some warmth at the very least," he offered.

Stepping over the threshold, Chat entered a large room with a huge bed in the middle and a small kitchen tucked against one wall. In the bed were 4 fragile looking old people, two on each end, with a worn heavy quilt covering them all. Perched on the edge of the bed was a young boy - probably about 10 or so, dressed in well-worn clothing, holding in his hand a large chocolate bar with the corner of the wrapped torn loose. His face was screwed up with a look of disappointment combined with a quiet joy.

In the kitchen stood a moment who looked markedly similar to the boy in colouring and style. She smiled welcomingly, encouraging Chat to bring Marinette further into the room where the warmth was the most.

"Welcome, welcome, young man," she chirped, rushing to his side as he gently placed Marinette to her feet. "I'm Mrs Bucket. That is Mr Bucket. These are our parents, and this…. This is Charlie." She pointed proudly to the boy on the bed. "Today's his birthday!"

"Happy Birthday, Charlie," smiled Marinette, finally feeling some warmth seeping into her body. "My name is Marinette, and this is Chat Noir. Sorry for crashing your party!"

"It's ok," said the boy with a smile, jumping off the bed, and holding out his chocolate bar with shaking fingers. "I was just opening my chocolate bar to see if there's a golden ticket inside." He grabbed hold of the corner that he'd already torn back and ripped the wrapper in half, revealing the full chocolate bar - but no golden ticket.

His shoulders slump a little with disappointment before one of the elderly men tucked into bed cheered him up with some encouragement. Smile firmly back in place, Charlie generously offered each person in the room a bite of his precious candy bar. After everyone refused politely, Charlie tucked into one of the empty cupboards in the kitchen (of which there seems to have been many), before grabbing his schoolbooks and racing out the door.

After the door clattered shut behind him, the eyes of every adult in the room fell to where Chat Noir and Marinette stood in the kitchen.

"Now, children, who are you and how can we help you?" asked Mrs Bucket generously.

As Chat attempted to somehow explain how the two of them had arrived near the Bucket's house without sounding crazy, Marinette studied the gentle faces of the four elders in the bed. They were obviously frail and had lived lives full of wisdom and stories. One of the women caught her eye with a grin and patted the bed beside her.

"Come here, dear," she cooed. "Grandma Josephine will make sure you stay warm. You are so tiny, dear. It wouldn't take long for these winter air to sink into your bones." Blushing, Marinette shyly sat on the edge of the bed.

"Thank you," she smiled, feeling more than welcome in this tiny home.

"No, thank you, dear. This is the most excitement we've had in this home in years. Who would have thought we'd be celebrating Charlie's birthday, holding our breath and hoping he gets a golden ticket when a pretty young girl being carried by a very handsome boy dressed like a black cat would show up at our door. Exciting indeed!" preened the other woman on the bed. The rest of the grandparents nodded in agreement. Blushing again, Marinette glanced over at where her partner stood animatedly talking to Mrs Bucket and couldn't completely disagree. Chat was handsome - if you like rugged rapscallions, she supposed. His blond hair was more wild than usual, giving him a slightly mad scientist look. She smiled a little at that.

"Why IS he dressed like a cat anyway?" asked one of the old men. "It's quite unusual."

Having someone show up dressed with a costume like his out of context would definitely be strange for the average family. It was sort of strange to think of people not knowing about Ladybug and Chat Noir. They were such a huge part of life in Paris, and not just because she was Ladybug.

"He's actually a superhero," she began, and all four sets of eyes on her widened with surprise. "Well, he's actually part of a superhero team. His partner is a girl named Ladybug." Her voice faded off, a wistful look flooding her face as she gazed off unseeingly to the distance. She jumped a little when Grandma Josephine touched her hand gently.

"Oh. Sorry," Marinette whispered. The woman gave her a wise smile, nodding gently. "Right. So they were fighting a villain. The villain defeated Ladybug and is trying to beat Chat Noir too. We are trying to find the bad guy so hopefully, he can get Ladybug back."

Grandma Josephine patted Marinette's hand softly.

"It sounds like hard work," the lady mused. "Do you like being a superhero?"

Gaping, Marinette's eyes flew to the woman's wise eyes in shock, then over to Chat to make sure he hadn't heard anything. Thankfully, he was still busy in conversation with Mrs Bucket.

"I-I'm not L-lady-bug!" she whispered loudly, flustered beyond. The foursome of wrinkled faces all smiled knowingly, leaving Marinette's heart pounding and brain going into panic mode.

"You ok, Marinette?" Chat asked from the kitchen, looking at her pale face and wide eyes with concern. She took a deep breath to steel herself before nodding.

"I need to talk to you for a minute, ok?" he asked her, coming close and reaching out his hand. Josephine winked at Marinette making her blush again before the girl hopped off the bed and allowed chat to guide her into the only other room in the house. It was small and had 2 mattresses tossed on the floor, covered with rough blankets.

"I need to recharge," Chat admitted as soon as he closed the door behind them, "but -" He cut himself off with a frown.

"Do you know what story we are in?" he asked. Marinette nodded.

"This family is going to get a sweet surprise soon," she laughed, making Chat jump back with a face of mock horror.

"Was that a PUN?" he gasped, bringing a clawed hand to his chest. She stuck out her tongue at him.

"Anyways…." he purred, "I need to recharge. Sadly though, I don't think my kwami will eat cabbage. That seems to be all they have around here to cook." He paused, a sad look crossing his face. "Ugh. I sound so incredibly spoiled."

Patting his arm, Marinette reassured him that he wasn't. This was a different place and time, and the family they had dropped in on were extremely poor. They both knew that.

"So, no to cabbage. What are you going to do?" He shrugged.

"Don't suppose you have any cheese?" he asked sheepishly.

"Sadly, no. No cheese."

"Well, guess I will have to head out and figure out something then." He grabbed her hand and softly pressed his lips to her knuckles before giving her roguish grin with a wink.

"Be a good kitty, Chat," she scolded.

"Of course I will, Princess," he promised. "I am always a good kitty."

And with that, he strode out the room, bid adieu to the adults in the room, and slid out the door with the gentle grace of his namesake.

Rooftop runs were the best. He loved the freedom that cold wind burning your face gave. As he raced through the city, trying to come up with some way he could feed Plagg without stealing something. The idea of breaking the law just didn't sit well with him, even if this was just a fictional world.

This city was big, though not as big as Paris, with soft bustling background noise. Chat eyed some restaurants, wondering if he could pay with any of the Euros tucked into his jean pockets. Unlikely. He scanned again, watching a woman struggling while carrying too many bags and suddenly he had an idea. Jumping off the roofline and into a secluded shadowy corner, he released his transformation, catching Plagg in his palms when the little creature popped free.

Tucking his friend into the pocket inside his shirt, he ran after the woman with the bags.

"Excuse me! Would you like a hand with those?" he called out, offering to carry some of her bags. When she agreed with a relieved sigh, he took as many as he could from her, trailing behind slightly as she led the way to her home. When they arrived, he helped her take them into her kitchen and placed them carefully on the table. She was so thankful she offered him a sandwich.

"No, thank you," he responded. "However, if you happen to have any cheese, I would be more than ever grateful."

Which is how Plagg ended up chomping away on a large chunk of cheddar, even after Adrien had wrapped a portion of it into the cloth the woman has given it in and tucked it into one of his pockets for later. Thankful for a bit of good luck, he strolled casually through the streets, tucking his hands in his pockets to keep them warm while enjoying the little bit of freedom from his usual fame. Despite the curious glances a few people shot his way for the strange clothing he wore in comparison to the rest of them, people left him alone.

He peered into the shop windows, listening to the voices of people excitedly talking about the discovery of more of Wonka's golden tickets. There was only one left. The one that Adrien knew would be found by young Charlie Bucket.

His wanderings brought him up to the oversized metal gates in front of the very factory itself, the air around it all but oozing in the sweet, wonderful smell of chocolate. He groaned as it wafted around him tantalizingly.

After breathing in as much as he could, and eyeballing the curiously blank facade of the buildings on the other side of the gate, Adrien forced himself to keep walking towards the Bucket house.

"I wish there was something we could do to help them until Charlie wins the contest," he mused mindlessly to Plagg who just blinked slowly from the warmth of his pocket. Ahead, he saw a woman accidentally drop some money out of her pocket, then pause for a moment to notice it was only a single bill before continuing on her way. This was Charlie's bill, realized Adrien. The one that he would use to buy that chocolate bar.

Getting close, he toed the snow around the bill to mostly cover it before hurrying down the street with excitement. Figuring Plagg had had enough time to recharge, he transformed back into Chat Noir and raced back to the house, looking forward to Charlie's big discovery.

But, it didn't happen the next morning, nor the next, nor the next, leaving Chat with nagging worry as he and Marinette stayed as guests in the home of their new friends. He knew Marinette was helping bake bread with the limited supplies available for Mrs Bucket to go with their already thin cabbage soup to make up for two added mouths to feed but it still wasn't enough. The already frail family members were looking even gaunter than ever. None more than Charlie who seemed to be little more than the wisp of a ghost as he trailed back and forth to school. While he was gone, he entertained the four grandparents and Mrs Bucket with exaggerated stories of his adventures with Ladybug, earning himself a few heavy eye rolls from Marinette who kept trying to bring the exaggeration down to a reasonable level. Of course, the elders in the bed all found that a particularly hilarious addition to each of his tales.

But Chat was getting anxious. Was time the same here as it was at home? Had Ladybug, whoever she was under that mask, been looking for him? What about Marinette's parents - would they be worried about how she had just vanished? And what about his father? Did he even care? Where was Bookworm here and how could he get that book from her so he could end all of this?

It was that evening that one slightly green Charlie Bucket burst through the door with a golden ticket grasped tightly in one fist shouting for his mother as his eyes danced wildly with excitement. It took a while for the family to realize what had happened, for the truth to set in when suddenly Grandpa Joe leapt out of bed, jigging right on the spot. As the family celebrated, Marinette & Chat shared a smile.

It wasn't until the morning of the factory tour that they saw BookWorm again. They had been standing with Mr and Mrs Bucket, blending in with the mass of people outside Willy Wonka's gates where the ticket winners stood with their adults when something had caught the corner of Marinette's eye and she'd looked up to the roof. There, a prim and proper looking librarian woman stood, all but baiting Marinette with her brown eyes before disappearing over the edge into the factory itself.

"Chat!" Marinette had whispered harshly, grabbing her partner's arm with a ferocious grip. He jumped as he looked down at her panicked face. "BookWorm is in the factory! I just saw her!" He instantly popped his head up, scanning the roofline before nodding at her and pushing her through the dense crowd to somewhere they could pole vault over the walls.

He just hoped Mr Wonka wouldn't find out. Chat didn't feel like being Oompa Loompa'd out the door like the rest of the kids were going to be later in the day.


	6. A Wonky Akuma Encounter

Fighting Akumas was hard. Fighting Akumas in small spaces was frustrating. Trying to find an intentionally hiding Akuma in a factory filled with nonsensical rooms and a maze of neverending corridors was infuriating. At least, that's how Chat felt after a good hour of running through the factory with Marinette. Willy Wonka definitely was a man with a wild imagination.

They'd already found a few rooms. The first had been small, completely empty with shockingly white walls. The second had housed a very complicated looking machine with a wide, transparent tube full of swirling rainbow colours that vanished into the ceiling. From there, the corridors just twisted and turned, descending further underground. With a growl, Chat threw open the door at the end of the hallway they were in, nearly stumbling over the frame as he stepped through.

"I'm the clumsy one, Kitty," Marinette chuckled softly, grabbing his tail to pull him backwards. "Not you."

Shooting her an irritated look, he pulled his tail out of her grasp and rubbed it in an overdramatic manner, making her laugh again.

"Focus, Chat," she chided, gesturing into the room. A small shudder of deja vu ran through his spine and he turned and fully walked into the room with Marinette close on his tail. They only had taken about three steps when they both froze in amazement at the sight. They were on a landing overlooking an overwhelmingly huge room that looked like a living meadow of bright green grass strewn with countless flowers of a brilliant array of rainbow-like colours. Down the centre of the room was a waterfall and river - all made of liquid chocolate. The sweet smell of chocolate and sugar almost burnt their noses.

"Tikki would die of happiness here," whispered Marinette with a small gasp of awe. Chat, too stunned at the sight of the room they had discovered, just nodded absentmindedly to her comment, not fully absorbing it.

"Wow," was all he could breathe in response.

Slowly the pair made their way down the staircase to the ground level, pausing at the bottom to each grab some of the candy grass and pop it into their mouths, sighing a little in utter delight as it melted with a soft minty flavour on their tongues. It was heavenly.

Chat bent down to grab another blade when he realized that he was being watched. From behind one of the bushes stood a tiny little man with golden-brown hair, peering intently at Chat with eyes that felt like they were boring a hole right through him. Chat backed up slowly, grabbing Marinette's hand and pulling her beside him tightly, eyeing the rest of the bushes in the room with a sudden worry that they would be jumped by an army of little Oompa's and dragged off to somewhere concerning.

"Mari," he hissed as she pulled back. "Oompa Loompas." At that she froze, looking around him to see the little man in the bush.

"Oh, Hi there, sir," Marinette said sweetly, bending down a little to better make eye contact. "We could use your help." The man stepped around the bush and moved a little bit closer. Chat kept his tight hold on Marinette's hand, determined to run if anything suspicious happened. "We are looking for a woman who broke into the factory. She's got a really weird skirt, and -" The Oompa Loompa cut her off with an excited nod and bolted off ahead of them.

Shocked at his sudden movements, it took a moment for Chat to register what was happening. The little man paused, turned around and waved for them to follow. Scooping up Marinette and throwing her over his shoulder into a piggyback position, he raced along, trying to keep up with the surprisingly quick being.

They sprinted across the whole length of the chocolate room, reaching the waterfall, which crashed loudly onto the candy stones at the bottom, churning the liquid until it was frothy. It was here that the Oompa Loompa stopped, half-hidden by a bush, and pointed at the rushing cascade of chocolate.

"She's there?" Chat breathed, unable to believe his luck when the man nodded before vanishing. Setting Marinette down carefully, he stared at the waterfall hoping for some glimpse of his opponent. Unable to see anything, he looked around the area, trying to come up with a plan. Usually, it was Ladybug who put together the strategy - not him. He was much better at impulsive attacks and distraction tactics than intentionally put together plans.

"I have an idea," said Marinette, softly. A pained look flashed through her eyes as she continued, "Well, she's not interested in me, right? She's just after you. What if you do what you are best at - getting her attention? And I can try to sneak up behind her to get the book?"

Chat didn't like the idea. In fact, he hated the idea. But, he definitely had to admit that there was some merit to it. BookWorm was single-mindedly focused on getting his ring so Marinette might be able to get close without being noticed. Then again, she might get hurt. That thought made his stomach twist painfully.

All his emotions were clear on his face. Marinette smiled at her kitty, placing her hand on his cheek to calm him down.

"Do you trust me, kitty?" she asked, staring him right in the eyes. He blinked slowly, gaze trapped with her intensely blue eyes, as he puzzled through the nagging feeling that pulled on the back of his brain. Something was struggling to piece itself together, but he just couldn't make it happen.

"Yes, Princess," he admitted, "but it's HER I don't trust. She might hurt you. Then I might lose you." His voice fell to little more than a whisper. "I don't know if I could do that." A flash of surprise flickered in her eyes as they stood frozen for a moment before a determined look of steel replaced it and she pulled her hand back from his cheek.

"We have to get the earrings back, Chat. We HAVE to. Please, let's try it." At his slow nod, she turned towards the waterfall and made her plan of attack. Before she could take a single step, he grabbed her arm and connected eyes with her again before blushing and looking down.

"Please. Be safe," he whispered, causing her to blush in return before he let her go.

"I promise, Kitty," she pledged, running towards the rock candy that lined the edges of the rushing chocolate waterfall and scaling up them with an agility that he normally wouldn't attribute to his typically clumsy classmate. Heart in his throat as she approached the opening of the waterfall, he decided he'd better get going on his own part of the deal.

Flexing the fingers on the hand that held his ring, he grabbed his baton and jumped over the river, racing up the other side of the precipice. Slipping in quietly behind the water, he waited for a second to allow his night vision to activate before looking around the space for their least favourite librarian. It was empty.

Growling angrily, he backed out of the small cave to where Marinette crouched in wait.

"She's not here," he said gruffly. Marinette's face fell and she let out a disappointed sigh.

"I miss home, Chat. I miss my parents. I miss my friends. I miss Paris." The words started just tumbling out of her mouth, her voice a strained combination of frustration and a sob. She knew it was more than that. She missed Tikki. She felt useless and a dead weight for Chat in this fight against one of the most challenging Akumas they'd faced so far. She just wanted her Miraculous back so this could be over. Traitorous tears belied her ability to be strong, spilling over and running silently down her cheeks and making her vision blur.

Chat felt caught off-guard, not quite sure how to proceed. He knew this was harder on Marinette than she had been letting on, but seeing his friend reduced to tears rattled him a little.

"I know, Marinette. I am sorry that you got dragged into this with me, but… for what it is worth, I am thankful that you saved my ring from that creature even though it brought you with me. And…" he paused awkwardly, rubbing his neck anxiously, "I am thankful that you are here so I am not alone."

"Oh Chat!" she cried, throwing her arm around his neck and sobbing into his shoulder. It was too much, she realized. He had to know that she was Ladybug. She had to tell him, and yet… something kept the words firmly locked in her brain instead of out loud. Fear. Fear of letting him down. Fear that he would be disappointed, or maybe even fear that he wouldn't be and pursue her with even more intention. Fear of what would happen next. All of it. And it all came out as a blubbering sob as she clung to him tightly while he held onto her like she would break if he touched her for real.

It was a silky smooth voice from the cave behind them that sent a jolt of heart racing panic to his core.

"Aww, so touching. I almost loathe to interrupt such a precious moment, but I have a job to do. Sorry." Bookworm thrust her hand forward, ordering the words from her skirt to leap into action. Chat did the same, tightening his grip on Marinette as he threw himself sideways and rolled to a stop with his body huddled protectively over hers. Blue eyes wide in surprise, Marinette lay still as Chat nodded at her before pushing himself off the chocolate dirt of the cave and skidding to a halt in front of BookWorm.

"You know, I am too fondue my ring to give it away," he quipped, carefully dodging the attacks she sent his way. Distraction tactics in motion.

Realizing he was counting on her to follow through with her idea, Marinette hastily wiped the lingering tears from her eyes, steadied her breath, and evaluated the situation. The Akuma's attention was firmly on Chat, although she did seem to have him at a disadvantage as he was being pushed back towards the mouth of the cave and closer to the liquid chocolate that rushed past it.

Thinking quickly, Marinette moved into place behind the Akuma and, as silently as possible, moved in closer. The book was still grasped in BookWorm's one hand while the other commanded the text arms from her skirt. Where had she put the earrings?

When she was close, Marinette sprang, landing on Bookworm's back and latching herself as tightly as possible around the woman's neck and body, kicking at the book in an attempt to knock it loose. For a single moment, Marinette thought the plan might work as the villain paused in surprise. At least until Bookworm sprung back into action, forcing Chat to the edge of the waterfall where she grabbed him with the extendable text lines around the waist.

"Give me the ring!" she yelled roughly, voice caught beneath the strong arms that wrapped around her throat. The text arms had taken hold of his arms despite his attempts to cut through them and Marinette could see that Chat was going to lose, no matter how tightly he curled his fist.

One more attempt at kicking the book free failed, and Bookworm laughed Maniacally, pulling the book in front of her and beginning to read in her typical mumbling tone. Her eyes were watching the letters overtake Chat's hand, inching ever closer to his ring.

Chat made one of his infamous impulsive decisions, and with a quickly mouthed "sorry" shoved himself off the edge of the cave and into the thick rush of chocolate. Marinette screamed his name as he vanished into the torrent.

Unable to untangle her extra limbs in time, Bookworm's body jolted beneath Marinette's and they were both yanked violently over the lip and into the downrush. Marinette lost her grip on the Akuma when the strength of the falls hit her, shoving her down into the churning candy rocks below. Wet chocolate covered her whole body, making it impossible to see, to hear, to breath as she flailed helplessly. Expecting to feel herself smash into the rocks at any moment, she suddenly lost every possible sense of anything - like floating in a swirling vortex. BookWorm somehow must have opened a portal, although memory was hazy of the events that had just happened. Desperately, Marinette scraped the chocolate out of her eyes and off her face.

"CHAT!" she screamed, arms and legs thrashing wildly, somehow hoping she could find him in this chaos. Something caught her wrist, yanking her harshly out of her spin and crashing her against hardness until softness wrapped around her waist.

"Oh thank God, Marinette," a familiar voice gasped near her ear and she knew she'd be okay, wherever they landed this time.


	7. A Houseful of Kittens

Something was poking her in the side. Annoyed, Marinette shifted in an attempt to get more comfortable, resulting in more sharp pokes instead. Against her personal preference, she cracked open one of her eyes to see what the offending object was that insisted on jabbing her in the side.

The room wasn't familiar - a high beamed roof with wooden slatted walls letting small streams of light streak through onto a dusty dirt floor. Looking down under her body, she found hay. Hay? Where the heck was she?

She sat up with a jolt, rubbing her tired eyes. Her body felt sticky, bits of hay glued to her clothes, and her hair matted uncomfortably to her head. Where was Chat? Spinning around quickly, she scanned the pile of straw for her partner, jumping when she found herself staring into three sets of saucer-like eyes.

Those eyes all belonged to small, furry little bodies. Kittens. Adorably cute little kittens.

The first one looked like he was wearing a little tuxedo, his body mostly black except for his chest and stomach that were covered in a startling white. Each of his little paws looked like they were wearing small white socks. The white crossed his face, too, shaped like an upside-down T across his upper lip and over his nose. He had a pair of bright golden eyes.

The second kitten was soft orange, stripes almost blending in with his untamed and tangled fur. In contrast, his eyes were an intense blue, and his nose was a dark pink triangle in the middle of his face.

The last of the kittens was slightly smaller, all white in colour except for a muted patch of grey splashed over one of her ears. Her fur was all fluffy, giving her a soft and cuddly look. Her eyes were a grey that matched her patch.

The part was the most curious, though, was that each of the three kittens was standing on their back legs and were wearing clothing. The boys were each dressed in pants and button-down shirts while the girl wore a one colour dress with lace along each hem.

"Uh, hello?" she greeted nervously, taking a closer look. At this, the three of them raced away, running on two legs and screaming "MAMA! MAMA!" as they hurried out the door of what Marinette assumed was a small barn.

As they vanished outside, Marinette looked down at the place where they had been standing. There, she found Chat Noir, his body flopped out at the bottom of the hay pile, still covered in chocolate goo.

Sliding carefully down from where she'd woken up, she moved to his side.

"Chat," she called, bending down closer to his ears. "Chat, wake up." Gently she prodded him, trying to shake him awake. He let out a soft whine, throwing one arm over his eyes, which only succeeded in getting chocolate onto his mask. His lips twisted in a disgusted look as he attempted to wipe it off while sitting up.

Hay stuck all over him, especially all over his hair, giving him a look of a wild, black-masked scarecrow. Marinette felt the laughter bubbling up inside, and attempted to cover it with one hand, the sound sneaking around her fingers anyway. Chat shot her an annoyed look which really only succeeded in making her laugh harder. She couldn't control it anymore, loud laughs pouring out from her as she looked at her partner's chocolate and hay look. She was sure that she wasn't much better, and that just made her laugh harder.

Eyes narrowing, Chat thought maybe she'd gone unhinged with all the stress. Until she gasped out, "Chocolate Scarecrow" between laughs.

He discovered then that Marinette had the most amazingly cute hiccups he had ever heard. They were incredibly soft. As the first one popped out, she slammed both hands over her mouth, laughter slipping to a giggle instead. Her eyes widened, twinkling. He felt his heart skip a beat as he watched her. That feeling was still new and unexpected.

He opened his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by the door of the barn they were in banging open. There, standing on her back legs and dressed in a full dress and apron, was a grey striped cat, three small kitten faces peering out from behind her skirt. He blinked in surprise, shooting a look over to Marinette who just shrugged, trying to get her hiccups under control.

"What are you doing in my barn?" asked the cat from the doorway, eliciting another shocked look from Chat.

"You can talk?!" he exclaimed. The cat didn't look amused.

"So can you. Now, why are you in my barn?" She crossed her arms, giving them a good old fashioned mom stare.

"I'm sorry, " apologized Chat, getting to his feet and bowing low in greeting. "We didn't mean to end up here. We were … attacked… by a monster and," he paused, looking over to Marinette to make sure she agreed with his story. She nodded, urging him on. "Well, she ended up throwing us here, I guess. We just woke up and don't really know where we are. We apologize for startling you."

He reached out and took Marinette's hand, helping her to her feet. "We'll go now. Thank you for your hospitality." And with that, he moved to pull them through the door so they could leave.

The cat woman stopped him.

"No. No, you won't. You children both need a bath, something to eat, and obviously a good rest. You can call me Mrs Cat. Now get into the house." she chided, shooing them towards a cozy looking house across the grass. It was small, but not too small, with yellow brick walls and a red tiled roof. The door was a heavy wood, curved along the top and ornamented with a similarly shaped window on the top half. It had an oversized golden door handle. Above the door was a quaint little balcony on the second floor, decorated with brightly coloured flowers. The flowers also lined both sides of the house in carefully manicured gardens. Off to the left of the house was a large vegetable garden which looked mostly to be well-harvested and lines of trees with coloured leaves filled the space behind it. It was beautiful.

Mrs Cat pushed them through the main house door, ushering them into her home while tsking under her breath. The inside of the house was just as quaint as the outside. The main area had couches and chairs with a kitchen settled at the back, with windows lining the side wall to overlook the garden. The other wall housed doors which led to a comfortable-looking bedroom decorated with soft colours and twin beds strewn with thick warm floral duvets, and a bathroom with an oversized clawfoot bathtub. A winding stair cased was tucked in the back of the main room, leading to the second floor, which must have been where the kittens and their mother slept.

"One of you get in that bathtub right now," Mrs Cat ordered, pointing at the bathroom and pulling fluffy towels from a closet tucked beside it. She shoved them into Marinette's hands, pushing her into the bathroom. "There are bubbles under the sink, if you want them, dear! And use soap!" With that, the door was slammed shut and their hostess nodded in satisfaction.

Next, she shoved a towel in his hands, too. "Scrub off some of that mess. At least it will help you not make a gooey puddle on my floor while you wait for your turn." He did as he was told, rubbing the towel over his chocolate-covered hair and limbs, hoping that Plagg wouldn't be completely annoyed when he transformed back. When he was as good as he could get for now, the cat smiled, taking the towel from him.

"I'll have to find her something to wear while I wash her clothes," she murmured, rushing up the stairs to the second floor. Chat stood awkwardly in the main room, close enough to the bathroom to hear the water start filling the tub.

"Mr Cat?" a little voice purred nearby, shaking him out of the momentary frozenness of his thoughts. He looked down at the three adorable kittens who stared up at him with huge, curious eyes. He chuckled, crouching low to reach their level. "Are you really a cat boy?"

"Yes, I am," he admitted, laughing when the orange one reached out and poked his car ear. It twitched in response, making all three kittens giggle.

"Why do you have a mask?" asked the girl kitten shyly.

"Well, you see… I'm a superhero. Nobody can know who I am behind this mask or the bad guys might try to cause more trouble." Each of their eyes looked like they were going to pop out of their heads in amazement.

"Really?" the orange one breathed. Chat nodded.

"Kittens! Kittens! Leave the poor boy alone. Get outside!" interrupted their mother, flying down the stairs with a bundle of clothing and shooing them out of the house. "I apologize. They are curious little things."

Chat stood up, chuckling. "It's totally fine. They are so sweet."

"Mischievous little monsters," she countered, moving to the bathroom door and knocking. "Everything ok in there? Would you mind if I pop inside for a moment to give you some clean clothes?"

There was a sloshing of water and then Marinette called out in agreement before Mrs Cat opened the door and disappeared inside. Hypersensitive, Chat blushed, wishing the kittens were still there to distract him.

Mrs Cat reappeared in a moment, arms now full of Marinette's dirty clothes which she tossed into a laundry basket near the stairs.

"What about you?" she asked, looking him over. "I'm not sure I'll have anything that will fit you."

"It's ok, Ma'am. My clothes will be fine." It was hard to explain how, but it was true. His clothes under the suit would be clean, and when he transformed again, the suit would be refreshed. Although he fully expected a stern speech of disgust from his kwami. She didn't really look all that convinced, but she invited him over to her kitchen table and gestured for him to sit.

Dutifully, he obeyed, sitting carefully so as to not get anything covered in any chocolate that he might have missed in his towelling off. She puttered around the kitchen, making tea and putting together a pair of sandwiches. As she worked, she asked him questions - their names, how old they were, how they knew each other, where they had come from, why he was dressed like a cat, why a monster had attacked them, why they looked like they hadn't eaten in days, and many others. He answered them as well as he could.

When she sat a huge sandwich in front of him, his stomach growled loudly in appreciation, making him blush and her to laugh. With a word of thanks, he attacked the food, taking huge bites at a time. As soon as he finished, far too quickly for his liking, he decided it was his turn to ask some questions.

"So, where exactly are we?" he inquired.

"Oh, this is Mother Goose Town," she answered, pulling together another sandwich for him to eat. "It's actually quite a busy place with lots of people living here. We just live on the outskirts of the town because I really wanted a place to garden."

The warm, bubbly water of the bath was exactly what Marinette needed. Chocolate had oozed underneath all her clothes when she had tumbled into the waterfall and left her feeling sticky. It felt so good to be clean after all the chaos from the last few days.

She missed Tikki. Bathtime was usually when she and Tikki would have long chats, typically about Adrien. Sighing, she sank down under the bubbles and let the warmth seep into her bones.

When the water started to feel cool, she forced herself to climb out, pull the plug, and towel off. She eyed the bundle of pale pink fabric that Mrs Cat had dropped into the room curiously. Pulling it up, she discovered it was a dress. She stepped into it, slipping her arms into the short slightly puffy sleeves and popping her head through the scooped neckline. The dress itself was too baggy for her petite frame, but that was easily fixed with the large black belt that she wrapped around her waist tightly. The hem fell mid-calf and swished delightfully when she walked. Under the dress, was a pair of white frilly pants that she had to tie tightly to her waist. They came just past her knees. Blushing slightly at the awkward underwear, she ran her fingers through her hair, deciding to leave it loose instead of the usual pigtails, hopefully, to help it dry faster. She fluffed the skirt to make sure it wasn't tucked in anywhere and took a moment to look in the mirror.

"I look like Little Bo Peep!" she whined to herself quietly, before opening the door and stepping back out into the main room. Chat sat at the table, sandwich in his mouth, while Mrs Cat chatted away. At the sound of the door, they both looked her way.

"Oh! It fits! I wasn't sure with your tiny body!" chirped Mrs Cat happily admiring Marinette's clothing. "Come, come - I have a sandwich for you, too." Off she fluttered through the kitchen to make yet another sandwich. Chat sat frozen in his chair, green eyes staring at Marinette without blinking. A burst of red covered her cheeks and she looked down to avoid his gaze, moving slowly towards the table and taking a seat beside him.

Chat's thoughts were little more than a blank pause. He'd never seen her in a dress before. He'd never seen her with her hair down before. She'd never looked so beautiful before. And his brain was broken. Suddenly realizing he was rudely staring, he tore his eyes off her and shoved the rest of the sandwich down his throat with a loud gulp before hopping to his feet, excusing himself and running to the safety of the bathroom.

When he was safely inside with the door closed, he released his transformation and Plagg burst out with a groan.

"Cheese….." he moaned, dramatically falling to the floor. "I need cheese."

"Give me a break, Plagg. I'll get cheese for you in a bit. Right now, I'm having a bath. This chocolate in the hair thing is gross."

That evening, both cleaned and fed happily, Mrs Cat led the two teens to the bedroom on the main floor. She'd washed and dried Marinette's clothes then left them folded carefully at the foot of one of the beds. Chat had asked for a chunk of cheese before bed, and although their host had eyed him curiously, she'd been generous with the cut of cheddar that she passed him. He cradled it carefully.

"Let me know if you need anything else, children," she smiled, pulling the door closed behind them.

Marinette and Chat looked at each other, crimson colouring each of their faces. The realization that they hadn't been alone together much in the last few days hit them both. It made them feel off-kilter.

"Uh, so…." Chat began, hand worrying against the back of his neck. "I kinda need to feed my kwami. He's a bit of a pain. But, uh…. To do that, I need to transform back and…" He was rambling. He knew it.

"No worries. I won't peek. I promise. Just… give me a few minutes to get changed back into my own clothes first?" Marinette flushed again. "Can you…. uh… turn around and stay that way until I'm ready?"

He nodded and turned his back, eyes jammed shut. Rustles of fabric were followed by some random thumps and bumps (which nearly made him turn back to reassure she was ok), followed by many and then the sound of bed springs.

"I'm good," she said, and he turned back around to find her tucked in, comforter pulled up to her chin. "Thanks, Kitty." He smiled at her and bowed.

"Of course," he purred. "Now it's my turn." Nodding, she turned her back to him and found a comfortable spot on her pillow.

Taking a deep breath, he changed back to Adrien with a green flash of light. When Plagg popped out, he looked over at where Marinette lay curled up on her bed, then grinned at Adrien with a wink.

"Shut up, Plagg," Adrien hissed, tossing his kwami the cheese he'd been keeping safe. That just made Plagg cackle quietly before he gulped down his meal.

Slipping into his own bed, he turned his back to the girl. Plagg settled quietly near his head on the soft pillow.

From the floor above them, the sounds of the three little kittens definitely not going to sleep banged against the ceiling. Their sweet little voices were singing, along with the repeated thumps of energetic jumping on and off the bed. Plagg gave a side-eye to the roof, huffed slightly, and then coiled himself up into a tiny ball.

"Night, Kitty," he heard Marinette say softly.

"Good night, Princess," he whispered back, hoping that he would actually get some sleep but suspicious that he wouldn't.

* * *

Author Note: Woops. That got long. :) Apparently, they needed a stress-free break with some good ol' fashioned teenage awkwardness.


	8. Naughty Kittens

It was still night when Marinette woke up. Groggily looking around in the dark, green glowing eyes peered back.

"You know, it might be worth telling him."

When she didn't answer, the eyes moved closer to her face.

"I can see that you're awake, you know. Night vision, remember?"

Plagg poked her on the forehead. Sighing, Marinette sat up, carefully positioning herself so her back was to Chat's sleeping body. No need for temptation.

"I don't know, Plagg. I just …." she paused, frowning. "I just don't know if that would be a good idea." Plagg poked here on the forehead again.

"Listen, kid. I need us to get Tikki back. You need to get Tikki back. We can't let Hawkmoth get her." It sounded a little like he gagged at the name of their greatest enemy. "So, he needs to know. And you have to tell him because I can't. Trust me, I've tried." The green eyes narrowed to thin slits.

Worrying her bottom. lip, Marinette stared into the darkness.

"What if he doesn't like finding out?" she whispered. To that, she swore Plagg rolled his eyes.

"Trust me. That is not going to be a problem." The Kwami sounded annoyed. "Just tell him. soon. He has to know who he is fighting for. All this secrecy stuff is exhausting. Plus, I need cheese. I can't eat cheese if I have to transform him all the time. Gah!"

Giggling quietly, Marinette reached out a finger and scratched what she assumed were his ears. His eyes squeezed shut as he pressed against her finger.

"Ok, Plagg. I will. But please give me time to do it ok? I have to figure out how."

"Pul-eeeese. That is easy. You just walk up to him and say, 'oh. By the way, I am Ladybug.' Then his heart will stop for a minute and then everything will be fine."

"Go Get some sleep, Plagg. I will try my best."

"Soon."

"Yes. Yes. Soon."

Plagg seemed content with that, floating back to his spot on Chat's pillow.

"You could peek if you wanted…"

"Plagg…" she warned.

"Just sayin'. He is right here."

"Go to sleep, Plagg. Now."

"Ok. Fine. Night, Ladybug."

Settling down into her warm bed, Marinette wished him good night too, trying to fight the temptation to glance over and see who her partner was behind his mask.

In the morning, the ground was covered in a thin layer of snow, making Marinette groan slightly as she pulled the blankets closer around her and cuddled her cup of hot tea. She had rarely been hoping to avoid the snow again.

But the kittens were incredibly excited, running around the main room instead of eating the breakfast their mother had made for them. Finally, exasperated, she dressed them all warmly in their winter gear and sent them out. Chat, caught up in their enthusiasm, grabbed a scarf and chased after them.

While they were gone, Marinette helped Mrs Cat with some housework as the mama cat chatted away alongside her about her sweet, troublesome kittens. The pride in her little brood was quite evident in the stories she told. It made Marinette smile thinking of how her maman did the same when guests came over.

A soft thud at the door made the two of them jump. "Sorry, Mama!" a shout came from outside, followed by a squeal.

Peeking outside a window, they caught sight of Chat Noir with an arm full of snowballs and a mischievous grin. The kittens were all running around, screeching loudly, as they tried to duck for cover. He was tossing the snow in their direction, easily dogging their return attacks.

His jovial antics caused Marinette to laugh out loud, especially when he paused long enough to allow the orange kitten to sneak up and dop snow on his head, rearing back in mock surprise before pretending to chase them around the yard.

Thankful for a warm, happy place to stay inspired Marinette and, after getting permission from their host, she pulled on an apron and settled to work in the kitchen. By the time she had pulled her creation out of the oven, steaming hot, Chat and the kittens burst through the door, cold and wet, but exceedingly happy.

"Oh, Marinette!" sang Chat, an impish grin on his face as he casually strode across the floor to stand in front of her, arms behind his back. "I snow you missed out on the fun, snow we brought it to you."

Before she could even react, he shoved a handful of snow down the back of her shirt, making her scream and jump up and down to try and get it out. Chat and the kittens fell into a pile on the floor, rolling around in hysterics while she squeaked and danced around, trying to keep the freezing snow off her skin. As soon as her shirt was snow-free, she scooped it up, walked over to Chat and smashed it all over his face.

"You naughty kitty!" she reprimanded. "That was not nice! And after I made you an apple pie, too!"

"A pie?" Four voices in unison from the floor squealed excitedly. Mrs Cat, who had been watching the interaction with amusement, told her kittens to leave their winter gear at the door and get washed for their treat. As one, the three of them jumped to their feet and raced to the door, pulling off hats and scarves. It wasn't until they were guiltily looking at each other that Mrs Cat realized they were missing their mittens.

"Out! Go back out and find them!" she reprimanded. "No pie for naughty kittens without mittens!" The three of them were out the door faster than seemed possible, rushing to find the mittens they had left in the snow.

As Chat got up off the floor, the last of the snow wiped off his face, he grinned apologetically to Marinette then hurried outside to help his co-conspirators.

"That boy," chided Mrs Cat. "He's a whole ball of trouble, with just the perfect amount of sweetness." She wasn't wrong.

After lunch and generous slices of still-warm apple pie, which ended up with extremely messy kitten paws, Mrs Cat and her children headed out to the market. The silence in the house was almost deafening after the chaos of the morning. Marinette resumed her favourite position on the couch, swaddled warmly in her blanket, one of Mrs Cat's books in her hands. Carefully, she tucked her feet under Chat's legs when he sat down near her with his own book. Instead of reading, she studied him quietly through her lashes. What would he think when he learned she was Ladybug? Plagg's words swirled around in her brain. This was as good a time as any to try and talk to him about it, but panic wanted to take place of reason. It seemed like telling Chat the truth could lead to a whole bunch of problems.

Would he try to step up his romance game? Would he still accept that she loved someone else?

With a start, Marinette realized that this adventure with Chat hadn't really given her much time to think about Adrien. Guilt flooded her heart. Chat had been all she'd really been thinking about, other than wanting to have her Kwami back. Was her heart that fickle that she'd so easily forgotten about the boy she claimed to hold it?

Frustrated, she threw her book down on her lap, causing Chat to jump slightly and look at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Everything ok, Princess? I'm not sure what that book did to make you so unhappy? Need a different one? I think there was one about Mount Everest on the shelf. I bet it's a cliffhanger." The eyebrow waggled.

Marinette just groaned, tossing him an eye roll.

"Seriously, Chat. That's horrible." To that, he laughed loudly. For a moment, she paused, torn between what she should do. He studied her face carefully, then set the book aside.

"What is it?" he prodded, turning to look at her better.

"Well, uh…." Another hesitation. Forcing herself to look him in the eyes, she took a deep breath and forced herself to start the conversation. Plagg's idea of just blurting it out was impossible - even if it did feel like a classic Marinette move.

"So, um, I was wondering." Gulp. "Do you know who Ladybug is?"

He stiffened for a minute, eyes shifting off to the side obviously shocked, before letting out a long breath and returning her gaze.

"No." he admitted, shrugging. "She thought it wasn't safe."

That was true. Tikki had told her that she couldn't tell anyone her secret. Even Chat. Especially with Hawkmoth around. Marinette decided to keep pressing.

"But do you have a guess?" she asked, leaning forward a little. He sat in thought for a few minutes longer than she would have anticipated. Obviously, he had been puzzling over who Ladybug was.

"Not really?" he finally answered, not sounding totally sure of that. "Sometimes, I think I have a guess, but then it usually turns out to be wrong, so I've tried to stop thinking about it. I'd rather just be with Ladybug as she wants for now, and when she's ready, she'll tell me who she is under that mask." He let out a lovesick sigh. "I already know she's wonderful. I'll love her even without the mask."

For a bit, Marinette couldn't speak, a large lump blocking her throat and the threat of tears pricking at her eyes. She wondered slightly if the pain in her chest was from the shock of Chat's unrealized declaration of love or from a sudden heart attack. She hid her face while she tried to compose herself. This darned cat was going to be the death of her.

He was still lost in his thoughts when she managed to get under control and ask him another question.

"What if you know her already without a mask on?" His eyes snapped to her face, searching for something.

"Well, that could make life easier, right? I mean, if we were already friends…." his voice trailed off, brain whirling. Marinette, on the other hand, was on the verge of a panic attack.

"Chat, I -" And the moment was ruined, thanks to a trio of kittens bursting in the door and screaming, "LET'S GO SKATING!"


	9. On Thin Ice

Marinette did not want to go skating. In fact, she wanted to avoid all things cold for the rest of her life. But after having skipped out on the snowball fighting fun in the morning, combined with Chat's insistent, eager prodding, she agreed to join them, despite not having any ice skates.

Mrs Cat bundled her up in a thick warm coat with a hat and mittens, along with her kittens. She even forced Chat to wear a wool knit hat over his blond hair and kitten ears, insisting that even superheroes needed to stay warm. He gave her a misty look before throwing his arms around her in a gentle hug with a cheerful thank you.

Grabbing Marinette giddily by the hand, he pulled her out the door and ran after the kittens, who had sprinted ahead, skates tossed over the shoulders. It wasn't long until they reached a pond, which, despite the fact it only had started snowing that morning, had somehow already frozen over. It was already busy with skaters. Unusual skaters.

There were a plethora of similar-looking children, all poorly dressed, playing a game of tag as they chased each other around. A young boy dressed in a cap and scarf kept jumping all over the place. Off to one end of the pond sat a little girl with a bonnet pulled over her head with blonde hair coiled tightly into ringlet peeking out the bottom, eating something from a bowl. There were creatures gathered here and there all over the place, lending an aura of animated fun to the area.

The Kittens had their skates on and were already on the ice before Marinette had even had a chance to take in the whole sight. Chat grabbed her hand and dragged her onto the ice without skates. She slipped and stumbled, yelping as she threw out her hand to grab onto Chat for stability. He wasn't quite prepared for her sudden movement, and the two of them tumbled to the ice in a tangle of arms and legs. After a moment of shock, Chat flung his head back and let out a loud burst of laughter, which was followed by an embarrassed snort from Marinette.

Gracefully helping her to her feet, Chat made sure she was steady before letting go to give her the freedom to move on her own. She timidly scuffed along on the ice beside him. He just smiled as he himself slid on the ice, content to just enjoy the time together. The kittens kept skating around them in circles, happily cheering their guests with noises of merriment before rushing off to the other end of the pond to play with their other friends. Marinette's confidence in her ability to stay upright grew with each glide.

"Cat boy!" yelled one of older children on the ice, probably close to them in age, "Can you help us?" Chat looked at Marinette for permission, not wanting to leave her if she wasn't ok with that. She smiled and nodded, shoving him towards the group of eagerly awaiting children down the pond. Carefully, she continued to shuffle along, enjoying the crispness of the air against her cheeks. She smiled at the children's antics as she watched Chat joined the larger boys at one of a line for a game of crack the whip.

Deciding to move back to avoid getting hit by the children who were snapping off the other end of the whip line, Marinette's feet slipped out from under her and she braced herself for a hard landing on her backside. Instead, she found herself saved by a hand on her back pushing her upright. Sighing in relief, Marinette looked over her shoulder at her saviour, a word of thanks on her lips only to be cut off when something wrapped harshly around her throat and dragged her face to face with a far too frustratingly familiar figure.

"Hello," BookWorm drawled, allowing the text around Marinette's throat to tightly, "Thank you for being so helpful today. It's time to get my new ring." The smile that split the villain's lips was cruel. A purple light glowed slightly across her eyes as she turned to where Chat Noir still happily played with the other skaters. Raising Marinette off the ground so her feet dangled, eyes wide in panic and hands grasping at her choking throat, BookWorm waited.

Across the pond, the screams of joy all rippled to a collective silence as the skaters noticed the horror in front of them before turning into screams of terror, children scrambling to get away from the woman and her hostage.

It was the eerie moment of frozen silence that shot dread crawling across Chat's skin before he turned to see what the others had. BookWorm stood patiently, eyes laced with cruelty and determination, dangling Marinette helplessly above the ice by her neck. Grabbing his baton to the ready, he shouted at all the skaters to get off the ice and go home. No need for any of them to get hurt - even if they were just fictional characters.

"Let her go," he barked, eyes locked on his opponent as he carefully considered what move to make next.

"Give me the ring, and I'll consider it," Bookworm replied smoothly, glancing at the girl in her grasp and giving her a little shake. Marinette just gaped helplessly, clawing at her throat, lips tinged with a slight hint of blue.

Chat growled angrily, crouching low to the ice in a predatory stance. "I won't give you my ring, you know that." His voice was almost feral as he tried not to panic about the paleness of Marinette's face.

BookWorm had obviously had enough. Raising the arm that controlled the words from her skirt high into the air, she paused for a moment, sending him a look of satisfaction before bringing it down hard onto the ice. The text that followed her command created a crack in the pond. She repeated the movement again, breaking the crack into a hole over which she suspended Marinette.

Chat was moving before he even realized he'd done so, pushing himself from his position on the ice with his baton and catapulting himself into the air towards BookWorm, a roar escaping his lips as he attacked. BookWorm's arm moved in a series of aggressive moves, knocking him harshly into the solid ice with a painful crunch before Marinette was dunked into the icy cold water and held there long enough to be terrifying.

"LET HER GO!" Chat screamed, scrambling to his feet, "Please! I'll give you the ring, just let her go!"

Satisfied, BookWorm's text arm pulled the girl out of the gap in the ice and threw her off to the side, her body sliding limply across the slippery surface. Chat's eyes couldn't leave her, waiting for some sign of life. It was his ears that heard it - a loud, raspy gasp of gulped air followed by a rough cough. The breath he didn't even know he'd been holding slipped out of his lungs and his heart began to beat again.

Bowing his head, he carefully put his weapon back in its holder then stepped towards BookWorm. Grabbing his ring with his other hand, he looked at it for a moment as he paused in front of her. She stood waiting, eyes brilliant with anticipation, Hawkmoth's purple glow lighting up her face as he likely did the same from wherever he hid. She held out her hand, palm up, eager to claim her prize.

His next movement caught her off-guard. In a flash of sudden movement, he grabbed her book out of her other hand and, for one brief second, tried to break it. She screeched and he felt a text arm smash angrily against him, nearly knocking him over. He had to make a split-second choice - try to break the book and likely fail as BookWorm beat him down and reclaimed it, or use it as a distraction to get to Marinette.

Marinette won.

Violently, he twisted his body and threw the book as hard as he could across the pond. BookWorm dove after it, hissing angrily as Chat rushed to Marinette, snatching her up into his arms as he ran by. He kept running, as fast as he could, not really sure where to go. The houses here were far apart and oddly shaped, meaning he couldn't take to their rooftops like he normally would. When he reached the edge of a forest, he scrambled into the welcome protection, landing heavily onto the ground and pulling Marinette as close as possible to him. She shivered violently in his arms, her teeth clacking together loudly, her breathing ragged.

She whimpered slightly as he pushed her away from himself, yanking off her sopping wet winter coat. Replacing the hat she wore with his own after squeezing the water out of her pigtails, he also wrapped the scarf he wore around her as much as he could before wrapping her up into his arms and rubbing her back to regain some warmth into her. Panicking at the potential for hypothermia, he racked his brain for the best course of action. He could go back to the Cat's house, but that might draw BookWorm there and he didn't want any of them to get hurt because of them. It was too cold for Marinette here. The only other option was to get BookWorm to open a portal somehow and get through it.

Gritting his teeth, he struggled to his feet, keeping Marinette as close as he could. He stepped out from the trees and started making his way slowly back down the road towards the ice pond.

Marinette's shivering was slowing down, her head lolling back and forth as he walked.

"Stay awake, Princess. Please. Stay awake." he murmured, tightening his grip on her and tucking her head under his chin. He had to find BookWorm, and now.

As if she heard him, BookWorm appeared, eyes blazing with irritated fury.

"Give me the RING!" she bellowed, screeching like a banshee when he refused. Silently he prayed that she would portal them to a new place instead of just trying to beat him down with her words. When the text came in brutal attacks, he dropped to his knees, curling around Marinette to keep her safe and his ring covered. Slam after slam drummed against his spine, causing him to grimace in pain but BookWorm just raged on.

He never heard her murmuring any words, nor the distinctive sound of her book clapping closed. All he heard was an infuriated scream before a heavy thud on his side knocked him over, tumbling him through a waiting gap and into the whirling eddy that he knew meant they had succeeded.

"Stay with me, Marinette. Please," he begged, hugging her tightly as the nursery rhyme world vanished and they were thrust into whatever story awaited them next. "Please."


	10. An Elementary Deduction

Marinette couldn't get warm. She just felt heavy, unable to move. Through a haze, she felt her body being held against something hard, something that felt warm enough to help and she tried to get closer to, even if she really couldn't. Tired. So tired. It was hard to stay awake. At least she had stopped shivering. The chattering of her teeth had been making her face hurt.

There was a sensation of falling, or maybe landing - a jolt through her ribs and the jerk of her head. A voice she felt safe with kept murmuring words in her ears, over and over, but she couldn't understand what they said. A rocking sensation followed by an overwhelmingly loud banging noise and the feeling of desperation.

She heard herself complain with a moan when the warmth that had been holding her vanished and someone began tugging at the clothing that stuck to her skin. A gentle, motherly voice soothing her as they peeled her shirt off over her head and forced something soft as a replacement. Why wouldn't they just leave her alone? She wanted to sleep. She tried to push away the hands that were changing the rest of the clothes on her body but she couldn't move.

She began to shiver again. So cold. Heavy pressure covered her from chin to toes. Tired.

The warmth came back, pulling her close with the voice that cut through the haze and made her feel safe.

"Stay with me, Mari. I need you," it said over and over. Curling up into a ball and pressing against the warmth, she dozed off to sleep.

Chat Noir felt happy when the grey colour of Marinette's face had changed to one of lightly flushed pink, pressed up against his chest. Relieved that her breathing had returned to a normal rhythm instead of the unsteady rasps that it had been earlier, he pressed a soft kiss against her forehead before he slowly pulled himself away from her. She whimpered slightly, before grabbing the blankets tighter around herself. He stood for a moment, looking down at her, and let himself just breathe. She was going to be ok. He was ok. That was all that mattered right now at this moment.

In the hallway, he met Mrs Hudson, their generous host. She was a sweet woman with soft brown eyes, greying hair, and a slightly plump stature. Not once had she inquired about their appearance at her door, nor the masked gear that he wore. She had been bustling to and fro since they had crashed on her doorstep, finding Marinette something dry and warm to wear, making sure the fire in her bedroom was stoked and fed, and checking in on the pair of them repeatedly while he had waited for some improvement. Now, she eagerly asked him about Marinette's current condition and was pleasantly satisfied when he informed her of progress.

"I am sorry, Madam, but may I impose one more thing of you?" he asked. She just nodded to encourage him to continue. "Do you have any cheese by any chance?"

She was completely unflustered by the request, scurrying away to the kitchen from which she returned with a good amount of some sort of cheese wrapped in a cloth. Bowing in thanks, he slipped back into Marinette's room.

It was a simple room, furnished with only the bare essentials - a bed, a set of drawers with a vanity mirror, a small side table holding a basin and pitcher, a slightly uncomfortable looking winged chair and a moveable folding screen tucked into the corner. Heavy blankets and curtains accented various walls and edges.

He had decided that he would pull the dressing screen in front of the chair to hide while he let Plagg recharge. That way, if Marinette woke up while he wasn't ready she wouldn't see him as Adrien. Although, in truth, he kind of didn't see much of a point anymore in keeping his identity from his friend.

Quietly, he set up his space and released his transformation, Plagg giving him his typically annoyed look upon arrival. Adrien motioned to the cheese and let his kwami recharge.

"So… any interesting conversations with your lovebird yet?" Plagg asked between bites, giving Adrien a curious sideways glance. Adrien just rolled his eyes, annoyed.

"Not really. We talked about Ladybug a bit and went skating. That stupid Akuma attacked Marinette and almost killed her, Plagg. She almost choked her to death in front of my eyes and then gave her hypothermia by nearly drowning her in ice water!" Adrien realized he was talking way louder than he should be, heart pounding as he replayed the whole experience in his head. He took a shaky breath in, attempting to calm down his quickly slipping emotions. Plagg seemed to pause in his snacking, staring at his chosen holder oddly before he resumed gulping cheese loudly.

"Cheese is so much easier," he murmured.

It was a couple of hours later, Adrien dozing while curled up on the chair with Plagg snoring away in his pocket, that the door thumped open, making them both jump. Thankful to be hidden behind the screen and temporarily out of sight, Adrien poked Plagg who looked totally unamused.

"Transform me," Adrien whispered, ignoring the glaring green eyes that the little black cat gave him as he got sucked into the ring. A flash of brilliant green light washed over his body, transforming him into Chat Noir. Calmly, he strolled out from behind the divider, meeting the sharp eyes of their visitor.

He was a tall, lanky man, dark hair carefully combed, with dark eyes that seemed to observe everything peering over a beak-like nose. In his mouth rested a pipe, which he held with a casual demeanour as he scanned the room, looking between Marinette and Chat Noir.

"Good Day," the man greeted politely. "My name is Sherlock Holmes, and somewhere around here is my associate, Dr Watson. I am glad to see Mrs Hudson has taken good care of your needs." When Chat simply nodded, Mr Holmes looked him up and down before turning his gaze back to where Marinette slept - pigtails askew and hands tucked under her cheek.

"Mrs Hudson informed me that you arrived at our step most panic-stricken with that girl a terrible sight. 'Frozen like it was the middle of winter' I believe she said. Most unusual for this time of year. Whatever could have caused such a thing?"

There was this awkward pause as Chat tried to figure out exactly what to tell the man, silently wishing that he'd actually read any of the stories of Holmes and Watson instead of just knowing of him through common knowledge and Hollywood interpretation. The man did seem shrewd and intelligent, as per the expected for a world famous detective.

"Ice water, sir," Chat finally answered, "She fell into ice water." There was a slight narrowing of Mr Holmes' eyes as he took that information in before returning his gaze to the bed. He made an affirming noise in the back of his throat.

"I believe, young man, that you and I are in need of a very detailed and important conversation. Follow me." And with that, Sherlock Holmes pivoted on his heel and left the room with a strong and intentional march. Chat hesitated, looking back at Marinette. She was still sleeping. Mrs Hudson would look after her if she woke up. After nodding to himself as if to confirm it would be ok, he followed behind the detective to answer the questions that he knew would be coming.

Mr Holmes' office was chaos. That was the only way Chat could describe it. The whole room was filled with oddities and collections. Bookcases were piled high with thick books, spilling out into piles on the floor. The walls were covered in artwork and portraits of various men and women. Thick curtains covered the large windows on one side of the room, in front of which sat an oversized, elegantly carved wooden desk. Paperwork was strewn from one side to the other of the desk to the other, with several stacks leaning against one edge of the desk from the ground. Mugs of half-finished tea were left forgotten amongst the paperwork.

Mr Holmes was busy shoving things off a thick velvet-covered chair, then gesturing to Chat to sit there, before taking his place at his own desk. Chat sat with a straight back at the edge of the seat, years of societal training as Adrien kicking into action instead of the casual lounge that he preferred to do as Chat Noir.

Holmes eyed him silently for a moment, giving Chat the same slightly uncomfortable feeling that he got when his father called him into his office to reprimand him.

When another man appeared at the office door and made his way confidently to the other chair in the room, Chat realized Holmes had been waiting. This must be Dr Watson. Chat eyed him quietly - taking in the sight of the well-groomed man with a small moustache and average height with amusement. It was a little unreal to see characters that were still popular in his own time.

Dr Watson greeted him politely, although Chat could see the curiosity burning behind his eyes.

The questioning began, as Holmes asked the boy to explain who he was, how he had ended up here, and why - of all things - he was dressed as a cat. Weighing the situation carefully, Chat finally decided to share it all. Everything. If the world's most amazing detective couldn't handle the whole story, who could?

Taking a deep breath, he began to explain how he had gotten his miraculous ring, which had turned him into a cat-like superhero. He waxed poetic about his partner, LAdybug, who he loved with his whole being. He shared their experiences of battling Akumas and of their ultimate nemesis Hawkmoth. In detail, he shared the battle they had with BookWorm, the stolen earrings, Marinette's selfless act of protecting his ring, and the sequence of worlds that had followed. On and on he went, interrupted only by the occasional question by Holmes, who sat quietly at his desk.

When Chat finally stopped talking, bringing them up to the current moment, Sherlock Holmes just stared at him as if he was trying to figure something out. It was Dr Watson who spoke up with another question.

"And the mask, it comes off?"

Chat nodded, debating if he should. It wasn't like these men would know his face. Why not? He dropped his transformation, black fading into his everyday clothes in a flash of light. Both men blinked at the unexpected brightness.

"Oh, sure. You let THEM know who you are, but not her." came the expected sass from Plagg who floated in front of Adrien's face. Adrien just scowled at his kwami, pulling open one side of his shirt and shooing the little cat into his favourite, cheese-stocked pocket.

"Adrien Agreste, sirs. Nice to meet you." Adrien rose, reaching out a hand first to Dr Watson then to Mr Holmes to shake in greeting. They both seemed a little speechless at first, simply following traditions with their handshakes.

Mr Holmes recovered first.

"And the girl downstairs - Miss Dupain-Cheng? Does she know who you are without your mask?"

"No, sir. I'm not really supposed to tell anyone who I am," Adrien admitted sheepishly. "Plus, sir, she knows who I am outside the mask. We are in the same class at school."

"Ah," was the only comment to that. "And, does Ladybug know who you are?" Shaking his head, Adrien blushed. "And do you know who Ladybug is?"

"No, sir. Although I wish that I did." It was the truth. More than anything, he wished he knew the girl behind the mask.

"Well, dear boy. That's easy enough. That girl downstairs - she's Ladybug." The way he said it was so matter-of-fact that it took a moment for the words to sink into Adrien's head. He just sat there, frozen, trying to piece together the comment with the facts that he already knew. A strangled sound escaped his throat as the realization that the man behind the desk was right.

Marinette was Ladybug.

It made perfect sense. She was always vanishing during Akuma attacks. She wore her hair exactly like Ladybug. Her eyes were exactly the same colour of bluebell blue as Ladybug. Her earrings were gone. She'd even tried to tell him. He'd already seen how Marinette's helping heart was just like Ladybug's need to help others. No wonder she had jumped on him to save his ring.

He was an idiot. How had he not figured this out before?!

Running his hands through his hair, Adrien slumped forward. From his pocket, he heard Plagg's howls of laughter and what sounded like "About time."

"Now that this is settled, I realize I could use your services on a case I'm working on," he heard Mr Holmes continue. "Can you dance?"

* * *

_Author: My apologies to any avid Sherlock fans if I've taken any of the characters out of their usual selves. I've only read a few of the stories so I feel a little like Chat about this particular world drop._

LyraMaeArcher 


	11. Behind A Mask

Marinette's first thought was that she was hungry. That was followed shortly by an extremely loud growling of her stomach. Pulling the blanket over her head, she debated the choice of staying curled up and ignoring the hunger versus giving in and unwrapping herself from this comfortable warmth to hunt for food. Her stomach growled angrily, making the decision for her. Annoyed, Marinette pushed back the sheets, shivering slightly at the change in temperature and slipped out of bed.

She wasn't exactly sure where she was - the room felt heavy and dark, and her clothing had been replaced with a long, thick nightgown and stockings. She grabbed one of the blankets from the bed and wrapped it around her shoulders like a cape, grasping it closed at her neck.

Softly, she padded towards the wooden door and pulled it open to peer into the hallway. Finding it empty, she made her way down the hallway, following some soft noises that indicated someone working in a kitchen. She was familiar with those sounds.

Scurrying to and fro was a middle-aged woman who visibly jumped with a yelp when she caught sight of Marinette in the doorway.

"My goodness, child, you gave me quite a fright!" she breathed, hand pressed to her chest as she gasped a little for air.

"I'm sorry," smiled Marinette, voice somewhat raw..

"Come, come, child. Have a seat. I'll get you some tea and something to eat. You have been asleep for quite a while. I suspect you will be hungry." And with that, the woman whizzed back into a scurry. Marinette made her way to one of the chairs beside a small table and sat down. It wasn't long before the woman placed a bowl of soup and a cupful of tea in front of her.

The woman introduced herself as Mrs Hudson, the housekeeper, and chittered away about nothing in particular while Marinette silently ate her soup.

"How do you feel, dear?" Mrs Hudson finally asked, pausing in her work to give a critical eye to Marinette's face.

"Much better, thank you." It was true. She felt so much better - warm, safe. "Do you know where Chat Noir is?"

"Oh, he's upstairs with Mr Holmes and Dr Watson. I'm sure they will be down soon." The woman smiled pleasantly and returned to what she was doing. Mr Holmes? As in Sherlock Holmes the detective? Marinette's eyes got wide at that idea. She wasn't really familiar with his stories, but it was kind of exciting to think of herself in a story with such a world-famous man.

After finishing her food, Marinette excused herself and meandered back down the hall to the room she had been sleeping in. She curled up in the chair and waited for Chat. She felt a little anxious without him around. She dozed a little while she waited, dreams of home and fragments of moments from the last few days mixing up together.

"Marinette." a gentle voice woke her from her whirl of jumbled images. She opened her eyes to find Chat's green ones. He was crouched in front of her, his eyes soft and a small smile on his lips. He reached up gently and cupped her cheek, rubbing his thumb against it in a tender caress.

"Thank you, Chat," she whispered. "For everything." He blushed but smiled wider.

"For you, Princess, always."

It was like a pause, a gap in between a heartbeat and yet at the same time 1000 years between them. Chat shook himself slightly, letting his hand fall from her cheek, backing away.

"I am glad that you are feeling better, Marinette. I was so worried." He felt unsure, rubbing the back of his neck as he continued.

"I need to, uh, to go help Mr Holmes with something," he admitted. "Something about a case he is working on. Will you be ok here by yourself for a while? Do you mind?"

She sat there, confused by the uncertainty in his usually confident voice, but nodded at him.

"Of course, Chat. I will be ok." Even if being apart made her uneasy, she knew he wouldn't leave her alone for too long.

He reached forward and squeezed her hand gently. "Thanks. I will be back as soon as I can." Relieved, he bowed elegantly at her, forcing one of his cat-like grins before he backed out of the room to meet Mr Holmes for whatever he had in mind.

Marinette sat for a moment after he left, trying to figure out what had Chat so on edge when another man stepped into the doorway. He dipped his head before introducing himself as Dr Watson.

"Miss Dupain-Cheng. If you would do me the honour of accompanying myself and Mrs Hudson, we have a surprise for you at Mr Holmes request." He stretched out a hand in invitation. Marinette caught sight if Mrs Hudson behind him, looking far too giddy and excited for anything drastic to be at play so Marinette accepted his hand and let him help her to her feet.

Adrien sat uncomfortably in a horse-drawn carriage as it approached a large manor along with many other similar vehicles. He felt too exposed without his suit, even though Plagg was nestled carefully in his pocket. He was dressed in a formal suit, well-fitted black pants and a long-tailed suit jacket with a white button-up shirt and low cut vest. Around his neck was carefully tied a white bowtie. Shiny leather boots reached up to mid-calf and white gloves covered his hands, completing a look of elegance. His years in modelling allowed him the ability to wear this without issue. Around his eyes was stretched a black mask, not unlike his usual gear, simple in design other than the pointed corners which gave the impression of cat ears. He'd carefully tousled his hair to keep his roguish chat style.

He had chuckled to himself a little when he'd heard Mr Holmes' plan. Somehow, everyone seemed to think that he was a good distraction, and that was exactly the plan for tonight. Since Holmes couldn't be seen without suspicion and Dr Watson was too well known as his partner, they had recruited him to show up at this fancy masquerade and distract the host long enough for the detective to slip past undetected.

Drawing on his years in the spotlight, thanks to his father's fame, Adrien braced himself as the carriage pulled up to the front entrance and the door was thrown open to let him out. With a deep breath, he stepped out of the carriage with graceful, fluid movements and a lazy grin. Time to play his part.

The room he entered was full of people, noise, and heat everywhere. In one corner sat a small quartet of string instruments, preparing for the night's music. Throughout the room people were bunched into groups, chattering away with much excitement. The women wore ball gowns of many different colours, elaborate masks covering much of their faces.

Taking a quick survey of the room, Adrien found the man that Sherlock had asked him to distract with at exactly 9 pm. Pulling the pocket watch from his vest pocket, he noted the time at 8:30 before casually leaning against a wall to observe the party. A few young women looked his way with shy smiles which he returned with a dip of his head. For the most part though, he stayed quietly out of the busyness and waited.

The music began at 8:45 pm, causing partners to excitedly make their way to the main floor of the room and participate in elaborate swirling dance moves.

At 8:55, he pushed himself off the wall and calmly made his way across the floor to where the host stood to supervise the affair. The man was middle-aged, tall, with a thick moustache. He was impeccably dressed and coiffed, holding a small mask on stick away from his face.

With careful movements, Adrien bowed politely to the man and then thrust out his hand in introduction.

"Mr Agreste," he said assertively, shaking the man's hand with vigour. "Thank you so much for the invitation to your evening. It is most lovely here. I haven't spent much time in England, being from France myself, but this is a wonderful affair." The man beamed brightly, obviously pleased at the flattery.

"Thank you, thank you, young man. I am happy to have such robust youth here this evening. Have you come alone?"

"Yes, sir," Adrien admitted, spinning around to stand beside the man and survey the crowd. "Although, with these kinds of parties, you never know who you will meet." Adrien hated 'these kinds of parties' even in modern-day Paris. The endless networking and interactions and social niceties. He'd much rather be at home with his friends doing something fun together.

The man chuckled loudly, clapping Adrien on the back, and agreed. "Lots of eligible young ladies here tonight, son. I hope that you have a chance to enjoy their company."

Holmes had said that there would be a sign for when he was in the clear, so Adrien kept an eye patiently for something to alert him to success, so Adrien kept up the small talk, allowing the host to point out various young women he felt Adrien should meet, and introducing him to various other men of importance.

It was when the host stiffened slightly while looking in the direction of the door, Adrien was worried that they'd been made. "What is Dr Watson doing here?" was muttered quietly before the man excused himself from Adrien's side and scurried towards the entrance. Following his path, Adrien noted Dr Watson, dressed in an eloquent suit similar to the one that Adrien wore. Assuming that this was the sign he had been waiting for, Adrien breathed a silent sigh of relief. Now he could slip out and hurry back to Marinette.

Watson shifted slightly and Adrien caught sight of a white-gloved arm linked with the doctor's. Wondering who Holmes' partner had brought to the ball, Adrien moved closer, only to stop short in surprise.

One arm gracefully resting on Dr Watson's arm was no other than Marinette herself. She was dressed in a brilliantly crimson ball gown that was covered completely in intricate black lace patterned with roses that created an effect that looked remarkably like spots. It rested wide on her shoulders revealing creamy white skin, short sleeves capping the top of each of her arms with smooth white gloves stretched up over her elbows. A matching red and black mask covered her face, stitched black around the edges and flourished with a large red jewel pinning tufts of black tulle on one side. Her black hair was in her usual pigtails, however, the ends had been curled into ringlets which fell softly against her shoulders. Her blue eyes sparkled brightly and her smile was radiant as she looked around the room.

The minute her eyes found him, his heart stopped beating. If there was any smidgen of doubt remaining after Sherlock Holmes had blurted out Marinette's identity as Ladybug, it was gone now.

He might never breathe again.

* * *

Marinette's heart pounded in her chest when she found Chat across the room. The day had been like a dream - being dragged to a dressmaker who had managed to pull together an unbelievable gown in record time. Marinette herself had offered to help stitch anything they needed help with and the results were stunning. She'd stared at herself in the mirror for a long while, admiring the amazing details of such a piece of art. Pampered and treated like what felt like royalty, she had stepped out of the carriage with Dr Watson with excitement.

He'd spent the day telling the tale of the exploits that he often found himself in with Mr Holmes as he completed his detective work. Tonight's ball was one of the settings for the current case they were working on. He'd explained that Chat had agreed to help but that she was going to surprise him there. She'd almost been giddy at the idea of showing up unexpectedly - just to see how her partner would react. Having a gown in red and black with a mask seemed almost too perfect an opportunity for her to tell him her secret.

But the way he looked at her now, frozen mid-step on the other side of the dance floor - as if she was the only woman in the whole world - made her heart race, her legs wobbly, and her brain quickly turn to mush. She was instantly thankful for the hold on Dr Watson's arm. If he'd noticed the tightening of her grip or heard the small intake of air that she'd given when Chat and she had locked eyes, he gave no indication.

The first thing Marinette noticed was that Chat wasn't wearing his usual suit. He was his civilian self, wearing a dress suit like the rest of the men in the room, the small cat-like ears on the top edges of his mask the only indication of his superhero self. But she knew it was him the moment she set eyes on him. Without question.

Chat finally seemed to recover himself and, with graceful, confident steps, weaved his way through the dancers and spectators. Eyes never leaving hers, he stopped right in front of her.

"Marinette," he breathed, barely heard over the din of the music and chatter. How a single word could be so full of emotion, Marinette would never know, but it caused her face to burn with a bright blush and her heart to skip a beat during its wild and erratic thumping. The smile he gave lit up the room, as he bent himself in an extremely eloquent bow before gently taking hold of the hand that wasn't resting on Dr Watson's arm. He raised her hand and pressed a kiss on her knuckles - a move he'd done countless times before. But this time felt different.

"Milady."

His eyes sparkled with recognition.

He knew.

* * *

_Author: Originally, Marinette's mask had black feathers, but I was reminded that Adrien is extremely allergic to feathers (oops - forgot!) so I've changed it to be tufts of tulle instead to create a similar design. Thanks for the reminder!_


	12. You

_Author: I can hear it now... "Hold it. Hold it. What IS this? Are you trying to trick me? [...] Is this a kissing book?"_

_Wait. Just Wait._

* * *

Adrien had no idea how he was supposed to interact with Marinette now that he knew she was Ladybug. He felt awkward and self-conscious, semi-afraid she would suddenly decide she didn't need him anymore. That she would push him away for that other boy she loved like she had so many times before. Part of him wanted to rip off his mask and let her see who he was. The other part of him knew that Marinette usually acted terrified around him when he was Adrien - all jittery and clumsy. He didn't want to make her do that.

Instead, he forced himself into Chat mode - smooth and debonair. With a slight purr in his voice, he asked her to dance, bowing his head in acknowledgement of Dr Watson. Watson smiled knowingly, patting Marinette's hand before letting her go.

Adrien guided her to the dance floor, pulling her close with one hand on her waist and the other holding her hand tightly, tucked close to his shoulder. With practised steps, he began to move in time with the music, guiding her nervous steps with his body as he moved across the floor.

* * *

She let him lead, floating along in a dreamy trance-like state while staring at his face as if seeing him for the first time. His eyes were just as green as they were with his usual mask, although now she could see his real eyes and not his cat ones. It felt a little unnerving and yet strangely familiar when she looked at him. It was so much easier to think of him as Chat and not think of the person who could be under his mask.

When the song ended and the people around them all moved to change partners, Chat broke himself from the moment and remembered his manners, escorting her gently to the side of the room.

"You look stunning, Milady," he said, leaning in close enough for her to hear his voice. Crimson colouring that matched her dress flooded her face.

"Thank you," was the quiet and somewhat shy response, before she looked back up at him. Had he always been this tall? She couldn't remember. His eyes were shimmering as he stared at her as if he'd never seen her before.

"How long have you known?" she dared to ask, watching a dream-like smile appear on his lips.

"I think I've always known," he answered, voice thick with emotion. "I just never let my heart believe it could be true."

Right then is when Marinette realized it was too late. Too late to question every feeling she had for the boy she considered her partner. Too late to tell him to be only her friend because she loved another. Too late to think of Adrien. It was all too late because she knew her heart belonged to Chat alone. Maybe it always had.

His eyes dropped to lips and then back to her eyes.

"May I?" he breathed, and her heart slammed into her ribs with a crash that almost knocked her forwards. She nodded, and slowly he leaned in closer. She forgot to breathe. She forgot to move. She forgot everything. She closed her eyes. His lips touched hers, softly, warmly. It was just a moment long, but it was perfect.

When she opened her eyes again, he looked at her with a gaze that burnt, gently caressing her cheek with one hand.

"Dance with me." All she could do was nod before he pulled them both onto the dance floor again.

* * *

He had to be dreaming.

There was no way the girl of his dreams was right here in his arms, dancing away in a romantic masquerade, looking at him like that. There was no way that he had just kissed her.

It must be a dream.

They flew around the room, dance after dance, ignoring the side-eyed looks from the people in the room who had noticed their lack of tradition by sticking with the same partner for each dance.

Finally, with her eyes still dancing, they headed out the door and walked around the gardens behind the house. The heat of the room and the energy of so many dances had flushed her cheeks and he found it adorable.

She breathed in the night air with a deep breath, throwing back her head with her eyes closed.

"Oh, Chat. It's been like this magical dream," she admitted as he led them to a bench near a rose bed. He nodded, afraid speaking would burst this bubble and ruin the moment. Instead, he just watched her face as a wistful smile twisted her lips.

"Tikki would be so happy, I think, if she were here." The words were like a twist in his heart. He'd almost forgotten.

"She would. She loves this romantic kind of thing. Me? I love cheese." Plagg popped out of Adrien's shirt. Adrien grunted, annoyed, trying to shove his kwami back into the pocket. Plagg just snorted and moved out of reach.

"Plagg," Adrien hissed, staring at his kwami with a sharp warning look. Marinette just giggled as Plagg stuck out his tongue.

"We have to get her back, Chat. I just don't know how we are going to be able to do that."

"I know. We really don't have a great plan of action for this Akuma. We don't even know when she will spring up and attack." He shivered, suddenly worried that Bookworm would pop out of thin air and attack them while he was untransformed. It definitely seemed fitting. "We know the book is where the Akuma is, but it's nearly impossible to get close enough to grab it. Without your Lucky Charm, I'm not sure we can do much…." His voice trailed off. Her eyes were misting over.

"No, no. Don't cry. Please, Mari. We're going to figure something out. I promise." He pulled her close and rested her head against his shoulder, gently rubbing her arm. "Tell me about Tikki. Is she anything like Plagg? A horrible little cheese monster?"

Plagg glared at him over Marinette's shoulder and he felt Marinette chuckle a little.

"No. She doesn't eat cheese."

"Lucky you," he mumbled. That made her laugh again.

"No, Tikki is so sweet. She loves to eat cookies. Sometimes I wonder if she just picked me because I live in a bakery." Plagg snorted at that.

There was a lull for a moment before he asked her to tell him about her life as Ladybug. She sighed slightly before she launched into her experience getting her kwami, about the feeling of failure she'd felt after their first mission but how he'd been the one to believe in her, and then about some of her favourite memories of them together. She sighed about how hard it was to get to school on time, and how the late night battles made her struggle with morning time even harder. It made him smile.

He squeezed her lightly when she stopped, resting his cheek against the top of her head.

"Will you tell me who you are under the mask, Chat?" she asked. He should have expected that he supposed, but it kind of caught him off-guard.

"I - " the words caught in his throat. He wanted to, but, at the same time, he totally didn't. He still couldn't figure out why she was always so uncomfortable around his civilian side and he didn't want this newly fragile relationship they had to crumble into a pile of nerves. "I can't. Not yet."

Plagg looked annoyed.

"I will, I promise. I just - " he paused. "I just need some time."

She reached up and poked him gently on the nose. "That's ok, Kitty. I'll wait."

"Purr-fect," he grinned down at her.

* * *

Dr Watson came strolling into the garden a while later and approached them where they sat quietly together on the bench. Marinette welcomed him with a brilliant smile.

"I believe," he said, "that we should retire for the night. If you would care to accompany me in the carriage, we shall return at once to the house." Following him to the drive, the three of them clamoured into a waiting carriage, surprised a little to find Mr Holmes already there.

"I hope it was a pleasant evening," he greeted. "Thank you for your assistance, young man. It was most helpful. I was able to get exactly what I needed."

The rest of the ride home was mostly quiet other than a short conversation between the detective and his partner about the case they were trying to puzzle out.

Arriving at home, Chat pulled her into a close hug.

"I want you to know, Milady - I am so happy it's you." Whispered words against her ear leaving her speechless. Bidding her good night, he gently bowed over her gloved hand and kissed it softly, before letting her go and heading to the room that had been designated for him.

In the other room, Mrs Hudson begged Marinette for all the vivid details while helping her step out of her gown and brushing her hair. Marinette fluctuated between glowing and blushing as she recounted the evening.

Shooing her into the bed, Mrs Hudson told her to get some sleep and closed the door behind her, wishing her good night.

Down the hall, Adrien carefully removed the fancy outfit while Plagg hovered closeby, arms crossed and staring at him silently.

"I can feel you judging me, Plagg."

"You think?" the kwami quipped.

Adrien sighed, throwing the cheese that Mrs Hudson had left for him to the little cat. "It's complicated. She doesn't even like me as Adrien. She can barely string a coherent sentence around me. I don't want to ruin this. She's too special to me."

Flopping back on the bed, he let out another sigh, this time one of dreaminess.

"She's amazing."

Plagg just gagged.

* * *

_Author: PS. I am packing kids in my van and driving 3 hours to surprise my mom for Mother's Day. I will be coming home tomorrow. *IF* I don't get a chance to finish writing or time to publish the next chapter tomorrow, I'll post two on Tuesday. Just didn't want anyone to panic! Thanks again for reading and have a wonderful day! ^_^_


	13. Heroes and Villains

After being up nearly all night dancing and talking, it was a late start to the next day. By the time that Marinette managed to drag herself out of bed, it was lunchtime. She dressed herself in her regular clothes and slipped down the hallway to the kitchen. There sat Chat Noir, casually leaning back in his chair with his feet resting on the table. She blushed when he grinned at her and turned to greet Mrs Hudson who happily handed over a sandwich on a plate and a cup of tea.

"Good morning, Milady," Chat's voice welcomed smoothly. "Waltz the matter? Was I dancing through your dreams?" Marinette shot him a dark look from across the table. He chuckled. "Ok, ok. I got it. Enough."

"Holmes and Watson left earlier - off on some lead for their case, I think. What should we do today?" he asked, dropping his booted feet to the floor and rocking his chair back to all four feet. "We could stay here and talk, we could go for a walk, we could run away, or go find somewhere to get married…." he faded off, raising his eyebrows and smirking.

"It's too early in the day for your chipperness, Chat," Marinette groaned, making him laugh and remind her it was noon. She didn't care.

In the end, they spent most of the afternoon in the house, realizing that their clothing choices were definitely not going to blend in. Card games, tickle fights, fort building, and long conversations involving ideas for beating BookWorm and debates of whether the time they had been gone was the same as the time passing at home filled the rest of the day.

It wasn't until twilight that they stepped out of the house and Chat pole vaulted them onto the roofs. Finding a roof that offered protection from suspicious eyes, they sat snuggled together and watched the sunset fade over the horizon.

When darkness covered London, they slipped down the road and into the park across the street from Sherlock Holmes's house. Holding her hand, Chat guided their steps along the paths using his night vision, allowing the silence of the evening to rest on them quietly. They found a bench in the back corner of the garden and sat down, Marinette throwing her legs over Chat's in a casual familiarity. He kept hold of her hand, rubbing mindless circles as they just rested there together.

"Marinette," he said finally, breaking the peaceful tranquillity. "If I took off my mask, and I was someone you didn't like, what would you do?" He watched her face carefully as it scrunched into a confused frown. She didn't seem to know how to answer.

"Chat, I don't think there are many people I don't like…" He smiled at that. It was true, she just had a caring way with people. "And I am sure if I didn't like you out of your kitty ears before, that getting to know you with them has to change my opinion of you." She sounded so certain. He really wanted to believe her, but flashes of her awkwardness, stuttering, and general discomfort whenever she was around Adrien played unhappily through his mind.

She leaned her head against him and he rested his cheek on her hair, mind struggling with indecision. His ears twitched slightly as another couple walked through the garden, linked closely arm-in-arm, talking in murmured words too low for him to hear.

"So," he began as soon as the couple were out of sight, leaning in close to her ear with a smirk that she couldn't really see in the darkness. "As we're sitting here in the middle of this beautiful park, with our budding romance, and I'm thinking we should put our tulips together." There was a very brief pause. "Or do you be-leaf we should be garden that for another time?"

She snorted loudly in an attempt to hide an outburst of loud laughter. The smirk on his face turned into a full-blown grin. She turned her face and pushed her lips against his - just long enough to feel the warmth of them against his before she pulled away with a giggle. He would never get used to that.

His ear twitched as he heard the murmuring voices approach again. They must be walking in circles, he thought, moving in for another soft kiss.

The wide-eyed look of panic on her face was the only warning he had before she was torn from his arms and pulled into the darkness with a scream. His feet moved faster than his brain, standing and running and arching him through the air after her.

It was with horror that he watched her reach for him, screaming his name, as she was pulled through the night by an unseen belt around her waist, carrying her into an open portal. It dragged her inside and with every muscle he had, he threw himself at it and stretched as far as he could to try and catch her hand.

It was like slow motion when they caught each other's eyes - mirrored images of terror- with arms extended just out of reach. In that silent moment, they shared a thousand words without saying anything. As time snapped back to normal, Chat felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness, unable to reach her in time, and Marinette vanished with another cry of his name when the portal slammed closed in a flash of purple bubbles.

He landed clumsily, rolling to a sliding stop on the grassy ground then twisting around to find his target. Scanning the night, he desperately sought BookWorm, a thinly controlled level of panic and rage boiling closer to the surface than he was used to. She stood beckoningly in the middle of the garden, her text-covered skirt squirming. Everything about her made him want to give into his darkness and attack her with wild fury. It was only the small voice that reminded him she was a victim too, that Ladybug- no, Marinette - wouldn't want him to that held him back.

Catching his moment of self-doubt, BookWorm called out to him mockingly,. "Cat got your tongue?"

That did it. That pushed him past his point of control, his claws out as he dropped to all fours and tore across the gap between them with a savage yowl. She just stood there with her cocky grin, sneering at his infuriated action.

His first attack was ruthless, baton grabbed from its holster and swinging with vicious brutality as the anger took over. How dare this monster take Marinette from him? How dare she take her Miraculous? Swing after swing, he assaulted the Akuma, blind determination guiding him.

Hit for hit, BookWorm just calmly countered with her extra limbs - only backing up slightly as a result of his aggression.

"Who knew getting rid of a bug would make the cat go crazy?" she taunted, pushing him to attack harder. His eyes were focused on the book with sheer determination, fighting his way through her text arms with a single-minded goal of destroying the thing. When his baton was twisted painfully out of his grasp, clattering uselessly on the ground, he propelled himself towards her, dodging the strings of words and taking hold of the tome. Prying it from her fingers, he yelled his signature "Cataclysm!" and prepared to slam his blackened hand against it.

It was her maniacal laughter that caused him to pause before destroying it.

"Break my book and that bug is gone forever. Lost in the pages of a story and never to be seen again," she crowed.

The confident grin, the cocky way she'd fought all made sense now. He couldn't release the Akuma or Marinette would be trapped. A purple glow covered her face and she grinned proudly.

Chat dropped the book to the ground with defeat. Without Marinette, there would be no Ladybug. Without Ladybug, no one could cleanse the butterfly and things would be worse than they were right now. Without Marinette, there would be a raw, empty hole in his heart. He couldn't lose her in a book. He needed a new plan. He moved to where his baton had landed and scooped it up, tucking it safely behind him as he put together his idea.

Staring briefly at the power oozing from his fingers, his eyes hardened to a steely jade as he turned to her in a fury.

"Where is she?" he growled. "Open a portal and send me to her. Now." BookWorm just laughed, gesturing with her arm for one of her tentacles to reach out and pull the book back to herself, grabbing it in her hand again.

"I may not be able to destroy your book, but I can destroy your skirt." He took a step forward, hand extended. That caused a momentary break in her otherwise bold demeanour as a glimmer of worry shot through her face. He took another step forward and she hissed like a trapped snack, slinking backwards.

"Portal. Now." It was a command. One that she didn't follow. He jumped forward, his hand of destruction ready to lay waste to her skirt. Moving behind a bench, she flipped open her book with an angry grunt and began to do her quiet murmur, eyes never moving from his outstretched hand.

A gaping, dark hole appeared behind her and she took a quick step back towards it. Realizing she was planning to escape without him, he acted without thinking. He slammed his power against the ground. It rumbled loudly, the sound of the earth beneath him being torn apart. A crevice appeared at his feet, racing through the grassy garden towards BookWorm, who stood with her mouth agape in surprise.

Jamming his baton into the solid ground he still stood on, he powered his way over the fissured ground, grabbing the woman's arm and pulling her with his momentum as he landed in the open portal just before the ground swallowed her up. The instant the world vanished and his senses started feeling overwhelmed, he let go of her, shoving himself as far away from her as he could.

He had to find Marinette, not battle this book-addicted crazy woman when he landed. Wherever he was heading now. He just prayed that they would be in the same story.

* * *

_Author: Got up early and typed the chapter that was playing through my dreams all night long - ha!_

_Thanks to everyone for your amazing comments and encouragements on my story here. I'm having way too much fun with it. ^_^_


	14. Lost

_Author: I've decided to bump the rating of this up to T - only because in today's part of the story, there is some violence that isn't the typical MLB due to the book they are in. Although there is nothing graphic or gratuitous, I'd rather be safe. Thanks for understanding._

* * *

"Hey. Are you ok?"

Blinking back to consciousness, Adrien was aware of two things at once. First, that he had transformed back to his civilian self. He could feel Plagg's small, warm body pushed up against his side, hidden from view under his arm. The second was that there was someone crouching over him.

He found a pair of deep-set, dark coloured eyes peering down at him with a frown. They belonged on the face of a young man - probably in his late teens, with a tall frame and dark hair. Carefully, Adrien sat up, scooping up Plagg and casually shoving him into his hidden pocket.

"You kind of just fell out of the sky and landed here," said the man, reaching out a hand to help him to his feet. Taking the help, Adrien grunted to his feet. "Are you ok?" Adrien just nodded, taking a mental inventory of the aches and pains of his body. Nothing serious anyway. It was early in the morning, by the looks of the sun. His quick glance at the guy made him feel a little nervous - dressed all in black, with a gun slung over his shoulders. He looked menacing. Behind him stood a petite girl with blonde hair, gun clasped between her hands as she stood straight and quietly.

"Where am I?" he asked, voice rough.

"Nowhere good," was the answer, as the echo of explosions and terrified screaming rattled around the cold grey walls of the buildings that surrounded them. "Look, you need to get moving. Now! Run as far as you can and find somewhere to hide. Stay hidden until all this is over. Go!"

Adrien felt confused, a hand on his back shoving him into a stumbling run as a group of more black soldiers appear from around a corner. The guy who had helped him up snapped to attention, gun back in position and face blank. Heeding the warning, Adrien bolted for a nearby alleyway and pressed himself against one of the cement walls, craning his neck around the corner to see what was going on.

Another teen male covered in tattoos and piercings approached the two teens who stood like statues with a woman beside him. They talked quietly together, poking the girl who remained unflinching. When the pair moved closer to the one who had helped Adrien, he could hear a voice dripping with hate snap out "The legendary Four" followed by a stream of jealous sounding words. A gun was pressed to the teen Adrien guessed was named Four. At first, there was no reaction, everyone still. What followed was a flurry of action that happened so quickly Adrien barely had time to register anything. The girl unfroze, her face full of anger. Adrien squeezed his eyes shut as her gun was raised. There was a series of what sounded like gunshots followed by feet thundering towards where he hid. Another sharp noise and a voice yelling "Run" close by.

So, Adrien ran.

Marinette sat curled up in the corner of a dimly lit room, people pressing around her as everyone struggled to stay quiet and safe together. Outside the doors, the sounds of destruction ricocheted off the walls. There was a muffled sound of screaming close to the door of the room they hid in, followed by he a series of loud banging knocks. The tall boy who someone had called Caleb unlocked the door and looks out. Suddenly he throws his arms around a small-framed girl who winces in pain and begs to come inside. He slams the door shut again after they do so.

Her body collapsing to the floor made people jump into action to help as she told them what she'd seen and learned.

Marinette stayed in her corner, trying to to keep a calm breathing rhythm. Without Tikki, she was helpless, vulnerable, clumsy. Without Chat, she was alone and unprotected. This place might be fiction, but the sounds outside that door sounded way to real to be safe. She gulped down a panicked sob, pulling her knees up to her chest and tightening her grip around them.

Around her, the other people in the room were busy talking - mourning the loss of friends and family, figuring out what exactly was going on, and putting together plans to escape to somewhere safe.

It was all blur, really. Her and Chat had been curled up together in a romantic garden one minute and she had been thrown through a portal the next. She'd landed here just in time to hear screams and people running around in a state of panic. Caleb had grabbed her arm and dragged her into this hiding spot where they'd been cowering together with the rest of these people for a while now.

Swallowing hard, she realized she had no idea if Chat was here with her in this world, or even if she could get out of here without him.

When the girl who had tumbled in with a gunshot had been repaired, she'd taken a small group of people with her and they had run out the door. The rest of them stared at each other blinking for a minute.

"We have to get to Amity," one said quietly and the rest of them nodded. A few of the men made some decisions about how exactly to make that happen, while a girl around her own age sat down beside her.

"Hi, I'm Susan," the girl said with a warm smile. She had long blonde hair, twisted up into a careful bun, although strands had escaped and were sticking out wildly in distinct contrast. Marinette introduced herself in return and the two exchanged a soft friendly smile.

There were more thumping and rattles from outside the door and then stillness.

"Time to move," said one of the older men, gathering everyone together and bracing themselves to open the door. In silence, they filed out of the room and made their way around the building to a series of alleyways. Marinette felt out of place with her pink pants and black jacket in comparison to the soft grey, nondescript clothes of the rest of the group. She kept her eyes on the ground directly in front of her, afraid to see what had been happening around her.

Occasionally, she heard Susan whimper with her hands over her mouth and was more determined than ever just to make it safely to wherever they were headed.

It took a while for them to make their way through the buildings and out to a broken roadway. They trudged along, huddled close together, getting as far from the war-like zone behind them as possible. Marinette watched in dismay as the city around here began to look abandoned, buildings crumbling apart and obvious years of disuse left wires and windows broken and dangling.

Eventually, a truck rumbled close and a man dressed in brilliant red beckoned them to clamour in. With thanks, they all pulled themselves into the bed of the pickup, sitting down deep into the bed to keep steady over the bumpy road. Marinette watched in amazement as the truck approached a huge wall with a giant gate. Somehow the gate opened, and the truck passed through, leading them into wide open fields.

When they arrived at what looked like a small compound with glass greenhouses and large wooden houses, the smell of fruit and grass filling her nose, Marinette finally felt like she could breathe a little. Thankful for the bunk bed they offered her, she collapsed onto the mattress and curled up into a ball - allowing tears to tumble out of her eyes as overwhelming feelings of the day washed over her before she fell asleep.

Adrien stayed hidden for a long time, waiting for the chaos of the compound to settle. When the sky had gotten dark, and the silence had lasted longer than the noise, Plagg had started complaining quietly about a definite lack of cheese, urging Adrien into action. Quietly, he jogged towards one of the closest buildings, slipping in the door and looking around. It was dark, but he could just see enough to make out a refrigerator. Opening it, blinking against the sudden brightness of the light inside, he was happy to discover a chunk of cheese in a drawer and a container with cooked chicken chunks on one of the shelves. Slumping to the ground, Adrien shoved pieces of meat into himself while Plagg devoured the cheese with loud gulps.

"What are we going to do, Plagg?" Adrien whispered, afraid that the attackers from earlier might come back and find him. Plagg didn't answer, only giving him sad eyes while he chewed. "I have no idea where we are, but this place is scary."

He sat, head resting against the wall, thinking to himself. Where could Marinette be? Was she safe? He felt his heart tightening, making it hard to breathe. Visions of her hurt and bleeding somewhere filled his thoughts and his stomach twisted, threatening to reject the chicken he'd just swallowed.

"Calm down, kid," he heard Plagg say with his usual drone, pulling him out of his reverie.

"I should have been faster. I should have saved her. She's lost because of me and I have no idea how to find her.". "What if she's hurt? Or worse?" His voice a horrified whisper, he dropped his head into his hands. Plagg sighed.

"Listen, kid, that girl will be able to take care of herself. Even without Tikki. Trust me."

Adrien forced himself to take a slow, deep breath. Panic wouldn't solve anything. He had to pull himself together. Plagg swallowed the last of the cheese.

"Let's go find her," he said, jumping into his favourite pocket. Adrien nodded, forcing himself to his feet and out the door.

Carefully avoiding looking at anything that evidenced the violence of the day, he moved along the houses. There was no sign of anyone around the area so he made his way along the road deeper into the city. It was dark and quiet other than the sound of a train rumbling on its tracks. In what seemed like random locations, there were clustered of well-lit buildings, with people milling about. The sight of armed soldiers at various doors made Adrien jumpy. Plagg kept encouraging him to focus on his mission of finding where Marinette could be. In silence, he walked along, hand shoved into his front jeans pocket as he rubbed his fingers against the smooth beads on the chain that he had hidden there. The good luck charm that Marinette had given him. He'd need that luck now to find here somewhere in this maze of run-down buildings and military control.

He wandered, no idea where to look or direction he should take until he spotted a group of 5 people standing haphazardly near the tracks. Approaching quietly, he watched the smallest of the figures get scooped up into the arms of a strongly built guy, head resting against a shoulder. A pang of jealous anxiety shot through him. How many times had he carried Marinette like that?

Sighing to himself, he stepped closer, making sure to scuff his feet enough to signal his approach. The group of them jumped, and a gun was pulled in his direction.

"Woah," he squeaked, raising his arms while his heartbeat stopped. "I'm not a bad guy!"

The gun lowered and he felt the rhythm thump to life at a gallop.

"You're that kid that fell from the sky and landed at my feet," said the voice of the one holding the petite blonde girl. Letting out the breath that he didn't even realized he'd been holding, Adrien was relieved that it was someone he had met.

"That's me." His voice was shaky.

"Glad you made it. Coming with us?"

Adrien shrugged. Why not?

"Get ready then, we're jumping on the next train."

Eyes wide, he saw the train's headlights getting larger as they came closer. Four put the girl down and all five of them started to bounce on their toes, ready to run.

"Plagg…." he yelped, calling his transformation as the train rumbled closer and everyone took off running. Four jumped into the train car with ease, the girl behind him. The others followed suit, albeit much more awkwardly. Chat raced alongside the moving train and sprung himself into the open door, skidding to a halt as his feet landed on the wooden floor.

Four eyed him curiously.

Deciding this world was safer while transformed, Chat leaned back against one of the walls, letting the rush of wind flow past him.

"Chat Noir. Nice to meet you." He made a slight bow to the group across from him.

"Four," said the older teen with a nod. Gesturing to the girl he held close to himself, he introduced her as Tris. Caleb, Marcus, and Peter were the rest of the group. There was an air of tenseness between them, unsaid aggression crackling through the train car as Chat studied them all.

They looked tired, faces gaunt and worn - signs of a life not as easy as his own. They were covered in blood stains with grime plastered over their exposed skin. Four pulled Tris closer to his side, knees bent and heads down facing each other as they talked quietly together.

Adrien turned his face away when they kissed, a pang of worry crushing through him when his thoughts turned to Marinette. She had to be here somewhere, he knew it. She had to be alive.


	15. Found

Most of the group dozed off as the train moved away from the city and into the darkness. Chat watched with unseeing eyes as his thoughts wandered through scenarios of where Marinette could be.

"So, why are you here, kid?" Four's voice asked quietly from across the train car. Chat refocused his attention to the teen across the train car.

"I'm looking for -" he stumbled, not really sure what to call her. "My partner." Four narrowed his eyes as he considered that. Sighing, Chat dropped his head and fiddled with one of his boots. "She went missing. I have no idea where to find her."

He heard Four grunt softly. "Where did you see her last?"

What could he say to that? 'In a flower garden in Victorian-era England' sounded a tad too strange. Instead, he just shrugged slightly, shaking his head.

They were quiet again for a long while.

"Why the mask?" came the next question.

"It came with the suit," Chat quipped, one side of his mouth curled up in a sarcastic smirk. Four didn't seem overly impressed with his sense of humour.

"I am a superhero," he finally admitted. Four just raised one eyebrow. "It keeps my identity safe."

"But you weren't wearing it before…."

"True, but no one here knows who I am either."

Four nodded at that.

"And your - partner - is she a superhero, too?"

Chat didn't know if he could answer that without a lump blocking his voice. Of course, she was a superhero. She was Ladybug. Taking a moment to compose himself, he just let out a soft "ya" before going back to stare at his boots. Four was quiet from there.

After what felt like hours, Four stood up, kicking the boots of the other guys in the car and then gently shaking Tris awake to let them know it was time to get off. Chat had jumped many times from moving vehicles, but he couldn't imagine the bravery it took to do so without a suit to protect you. One by one they threw themselves off and into a grassy field before gathering back together to start a trek to a camp they knew of that should be safe.

Passing through an unguarded gate, they set off through the fields, winding along a path. Finally, in the distance, they caught sight of a few flickering lights in the distance. Despite the fact that Chat had spent many nights running around the rooftops of Paris, his legs ached from the length of the hike they had just taken. He was exhausted, but he forced himself to keep moving. If Tris, who looked like she was hurt, could push forward, so could he.

The buildings they arrived at weren't huge or eloquent, just simple and practical. When they entered, they were greeted by a woman who instantly delegated them all to various rooms and took Tris off for medical attention. The morning sun peeked over the horizon as Adrien released his transformation and collapsed onto his assigned bed with Plagg snuggled close beside him.

* * *

The air was hot and sticky as Marinette wandered through the orchards that surrounded the buildings where she'd been left alone while the rest of the community gathered together for some kind of meeting. Idly, she picked an apple from the tree and bit into it, sweet sticky juice dripping down her chin.

It was strange to be alone. She had gotten so used to life with Tikki around that it felt hollow to have no one to talk to, no one to share all her thoughts with. With one hand, she felt for her earrings, rubbing the space where it used to be. Oh, Tikki.

Marinette tucked herself into the shade of one of the big trees and sat with her back against its trunk. This really was a beautiful place. So different than home. Paris had parks and green space, but nothing these dream-like, rolling fields. Closing her eyes and breathing in the fresh smell of clean air, Marinette leaned back against the tree and wondered where Chat could possibly be.

Thinking of him made her heart ache. How could she have possibly let herself lose two of the most important things in her life? First Tikki and now Chat. A tear trickled down her cheek, the feeling of loneliness pressing on her.

Angrily wiping away the tears, Marinette decided that both Tikki and Chat would expect her to be strong, to be determined. She was Ladybug. No more of this helplessness. With or without the suit, she could solve anything. How could she get herself out of this book and back to Chat?

Chewing absentmindedly on the apple, Marinette began to puzzle things through. She knew that BookWorm had a skirt with words on it that she could use to attack with. She knew that the book the villain had was the key to her ability to open portals and was probably where the Akuma was hidden. Frowning, Marinette wondered where the earrings had gone. BookWorm hadn't been wearing them, nor holding them after she had taken them out of Ladybug's ears. She needed both her hands to attack. That meant that she had either hidden them somewhere or had somehow given them to Hawkmoth already.

It seemed more plausible that BookWorm had them still, waiting for both Miraculous before turning them in. Marinette mentally visualized their adversary, slowly scanning her from head to toe, examining the costume she wore with her critical fashion designing eyes. The woman's vest and shirt had no obvious hiding spots. The skirt, however, was amazingly beautiful. Was it possible that she had pockets in it? Marinette focused, picturing the woman in as much detail as she could remember and trying to zoom into the sides of the skirt for a clearer sign of any pockets. Frustrated that she couldn't remember, Marinette opened her eyes. At least now she had an idea of what to look for the next time they encountered the librarian.

Her heart raced excitedly at the thought of getting Tikki back. The return of her closest friend would mean so much, and the power of the Miraculous could mean the difference in this fight. As Ladybug, she could help, instead of always leaving Chat to handle it on his own.

Her thoughts drifted back to her partner. What had happened to him when she'd been sent here? Was it possible that somehow he'd managed to come through and was here in this strange future world? Her stomach clenched and the picture of him being anywhere near the fighting that had happened yesterday. She prayed that if he was here, he was somewhere safe.

She let herself daydream a little, trying to think of who he would be under his mask, remembering his emerald green eyes behind the masquerade domino and how they had felt so familiar and safe. She wasn't sure, exactly, why he didn't feel ready to show his identity to her now. He'd always seemed ready to peel off the mask at any given moment. She thought he'd be ripping it off the minute that he'd learned her identity. Why was he nervous suddenly?

Voices in the orchard broke her thoughts. Standing up, she tossed her apple core under the tree and walked back to the wooden building where they had a kitchen. It would be meal time soon. They had asked if she could help serve food as payment for being there - everything pitched in to make things work. Kitchen duty seemed like a perfect fit for Marinette. Maybe she could be useful until she figured out a plan of action.

* * *

Adrien woke up to Plagg poking him in the nose.

"I need cheese. Get me cheese," his little voice droned.

Groaning, Adrien rolled over and stretched with a yawn. "You always need cheese."

Plagg wouldn't stop poking him. Shooting his kwami a disgusted look, Adrien sat up and hunched over on the side of his bed, rubbing his hands on his face.

"What time is it?" he asked. Plagg shrugged.

"I don't know, but I smell food and I'm hungryyyyyyyyyyy."

Adrien just sighed, rolling his eyes at the typical Plagg response and shoved his feet into his shoes. The sun shining in his room was bright, meaning that it was well into the day and not his usual waking up time. As he stood up, he opened his shirt so that Plagg could zip into his favourite hiding spot.

Traipsing along the hallway, Adrien made his way to the door and out into the open air. It was hot, making him wish he wasn't wearing heavy jeans and two shirts. Looking around, he didn't see any familiar faces, but there were people streaming into the largest of the wooden buildings happily chirping away with each other in peaceful and happy looking conversations. Figuring that was likely where the food would be, he shuffled along, hands in his pockets and head low enough to avoid attention. There were tables filling a great hall when he entered, the bustling noise of a cafeteria ringing off the walls as everything talked and ate. The room was a sea of people dressed in various shades of yellow and red, laughing and smiling.

Looking around the room, he couldn't catch sight of any of the group he'd arrived with so he made his way to the food line, tray in hand. Slowly, the line made its way forward. Adrien just watched everyone quietly as they got their food and moved to find seats. When he finally made it to the serving centre, he caught sight of black pigtails behind the counter and froze. Was it?

"Marinette," he breathed quietly, and he felt Plagg wiggle to the edge of his shirt and peer out. The girl behind him poked him gently on the shoulder which reminded him of where he was. With an apology, he stepped out of the line and looked around for a place to better study the servers without being seen.

He found a spot against one wall of the room, lined up almost directly behind the counter. There he waited in hopes of seeing her again.

"I am sure I Saw her, Plagg. I am sure of it." He talked low, almost breathless, eyes scouring the workers behind the counter.

It didn't take long before he saw her face, freckled and smiling, dark pigtails tied behind her. The pressure that had been squeezing his chest since she had vanished through the portal lifted and he could finally breathe again.

"Yep, that's her," confirmed Plagg, tucking himself back into his pocket.

Adrien thought quickly. He wasn't going to spring his civilian self on her here. She might have a heart attack. Leaning over to a set of young girls nearby, he asked if they could give the girl with pigtails a secret message for him. They clapped with joy, eyes shining. As they raced to the counter, giggling loudly, he slipped outside and transformed, perching himself on the roof of the building next to the meal hall.

It wasn't long before she came bursting out the doors, flushed with frantic blue eyes searching all around. She found him almost instantly, letting out a gasp and stumbling towards him, collapsing to the ground with a sob and tears streaking down her face.

He dropped to the ground beside her, scooping her up in his arms and racing towards the orchard where they could be alone. She clung to his neck as her life depended on it. As soon as they were somewhere private he dropped to his knees and held her tightly against him, his own tears welling up in his eyes.

"I found you," he breathed. She just sobbed harder against him, pressing her face into his neck.

"I-I didn't know if I'd - I'd ever s-see you again!" she managed to stutter out between crying gulps. "It's been so scary, Chat. There were guns, and …" Her voice trailed off and she shuttered.

"I know," he whispered. "I'm here now. We're safe."

* * *

_Author: ... this is about the halfway mark - which is both crazy because I feel like this has been forever and yet, looking at my notes, I see we still have a lot more to go! I'm having a great time writing this. Thank you to everyone for reading and for your comments. They are so encouraging to me and keeping me inspired to write more. _


	16. Angel of Music

It was a while before either of them fully calmed down. Even after the tears had stopped and they had let each other go, they sat with fingers interweaved side by side in the shade of a tree. Pulling her knuckles to his lips, Chat kissed them softly before resting them against his cheek. He never wanted to let her go again.

"We have to make sure she can't separate us again," he said, although he had no idea how to make that happen. Short of tying her to him. He wondered how she would react to THAT idea…

Glancing down at her, he studied her face as she was lost in thought against him.

"I wonder if she has pockets," she puzzled, causing him to let out a chuckle. Marinette would be thinking of practicality in an Akuma's costume design. Looking up at him, she frowned. "Stop laughing! I just think she has my earrings in a pocket."

"That would make sense, I suppose."

There was a pause as they both wondered how they could possibly get access to a pocket.

"What do we do now, Chat?" she questioned. "I really don't like this place. It is horrible. Even this nice farm, there is a strange feeling about it. I am worried."

He knew exactly what she meant, but he had no idea what they should do. So, they went back to leaning on each other in silence.

When the afternoon sun had sunk low in the sky, they decided they should probably get some food other than the fruit they had been taking from the trees while sitting in the orchard. Hand in hand, they slowly worked their way down the rows of trees back towards the dormitories.

When Marinette stumbled over her feet, Chat moved quickly to catch her arms and stand her back up only to have his feet unexpectedly swept out from under him. He landed with an ungraceful thump, splayed out on the grassy ground, Marinette pulled on top of him. She blushed a little as she tried to stand up.

Pressure slithered across her back, pressing her down against Chat against her will. Panic ripped through her as she realized it was an intentional action, one that felt far too familiar from the last few days.

"BookWorm!" she yelped quietly as text lines wrapped around both of their bodies mummy-style, squeezing them together like a boa constrictor attacking its prey. Chat balled his ring hand into a fist and pulled it into his body, trapping it under the ever-tightening arms.

"Hey, BookWorm. Ex-squeeze me, can you move up my back a little? I really could use a good crack of the upper back." Chat quipped.

Marinette groaned although she wasn't fully sure if that was because of Chat's ability to use horrible humour in strange situations or because she felt like every part of her body was getting the air drained out of it.

"Focus, Chat!" she squeaked out, "Where is she?" He craned his head to try and see, but there was nothing to see other than tentacles of text coming from what seemed like everywhere. He grunted as the tightening continued.

"I don't see her." Mind racing, Marinette tried to come up with a plan to get them out of the tangle they were in. "You know, Milady - if I have to die today - at least we got to get close first."

His typical cheerful flirting usually grated on her, but today it was exactly what she needed.

"Get close! We need her to get close," she gasped. "I need to see if she has pockets. You need to get her so annoyed she makes a portal!" It hurt the breathe, ribs pressing into her lungs. He nodded, at least that's what it felt like, and suddenly he was yelling out all sorts of nonsense.

"You know, Wormie, I was really hoping you were booked this week so we could come up with a novel idea to defeat you properly. I know you are really trying to build our character development here, but I have an author you can't refuse! Send us back to Paris and give Ladybug back her earrings. We'll try this again and see what kind of spine you have!"

Marinette marvelled at his ability to pun. It was a gift really, an annoying gift, but one that he excelled at. Off to the side, she heard an angry hiss.

"Paris? You want to go to Paris?" BookWorm's voice shrieked. "Your ability to defeat me so far has been pretty sad, cat boy, what makes you think that you could do any better if you tried again!"

"You are long overdue for a beatdown, Wormie," he responded, earning them both another crushing contraction. Chat let out a gurgle, trying to arch his back out to give them a little more space without success. Marinette felt her breaths coming in light pants, unable to get a full breath in. How long until she felt a bone crack under the pressure.

Straining her eyes, she peered towards where the librarian's voice was, unable to see anything. If she could just see the skirt!

The crackling sound of electricity sizzled through the air and Marinette felt the ground give way underneath them. The wrap around them loosened, allowing her to gasp in air. Chat grabbed her, pulling her tightly back against him, arms like steel as they tumbled through the gap.

"I'm not letting you go ever again," he vowed next to her ear. She was fine with that.

There was music. Singing.

Marinette opened her eyes, head feeling dizzy as she tried to place where exactly she was. A hand grabbed her arm and she jumped until she looked down and recognized the hand as Chat's gloved claws.

"Where are we?" he croaked, looking around.

They were tucked in the middle of chaos, just out of the way enough to not be seen but close enough to feel a whirling breeze every time someone rushed past. It seemed like they were behind the scenes on a stage - with props and stagehands, people waiting in the wings in full costumes and makeup, young girls in dancing gear huddled together nearby. A thick red curtain was pulled back and there was the smell of gas from lanterns throughout the room. Singing on stage accompanied by an orchestra.

Marinette could barely keep her eyes off the elaborate designs and brilliant colours of the costumes. She didn't really know where they were exactly.

"An opera?" she whispered, shrugging slightly.

As the music ended, there was a round of thunderous applause, complete with loud shouting and cheering, and the curtain closed. People threw themselves into action as a young woman came off stage shaking and sobbing, before collapsing into the arms of another singer. Carrying her off down a hallway behind the stage, everyone else moved to finish up the evening of entertainment.

Stealing a look at her partner, Marinette took in his pensive look as he stood to survey the scene.

"This seems familiar," he mused, brow drawn together with a thoughtful frown. "I feel like I should know where we are." She pressed in closer to his side, grabbing his arm tightly.

As the audience filed out of the hall, Chat and Marinette stayed in their spot, carefully keeping out of sight, watching everything that was going on. When the Opera House emptied and the backstage chaos calmed down, Chat put his arm around her waist and vaulted them into the rafters where he carefully made his way down the hall and to where there was continued action.

The ballerina girls were clinging to each other as they followed their teacher down the hall, all in a panic about something. Around the corner was a group of people pressing into a single room, all talking loudly with each other. A tall, young man in full evening dress pushed his way through the crowd and squeezed into the room, only to find himself pushed back out with everyone else in the room shortly thereafter. The crowd dispersed, making their way out to the main hall, but the young man stayed behind, pressing his ear to the door. Marinette watched as he paled and stumbled backwards, hiding in a shadow as the woman from the stage came out and scurried down the hallway. As soon as she had vanished, the man threw himself into the room only to come out again in a few minutes with a very confused look on his face. He wandered off, deep in thought.

A small group of men carrying a stretcher covered in a white cloth walked by soon after, causing Chat to give a start. Marinette turned to look at him with wide eyes.

"What?"

"I know where we are." He pulled her to him again and started running, throwing them out a window and into the night air. Using his baton, he headed to the roof. As soon as Marinette's feet were steady under her, she looked around with a gasp.

The skyline was vaguely familiar, the Eiffel Tower lit up in the moonlight.

"We're home?" she wondered, looking at him in surprise. He smiled at her sadly.

"Not exactly. It's Paris, but, it's not our Paris." Her face fell a little. "We're in the Phantom of the Opera."

They spent the night at their favourite spot on the Eiffel Tower, overlooking their beloved city, noting the differences between Paris in their time and Paris at this time. Despite not being the same, it felt like home and for the first time since their adventures had begun, Marinette felt at ease. Here she could picture her parents in their house above the bakery, she could imagine her friends in their houses, she could picture herself running over rooftops with Chat on her heels laughing.

"I wish I could be Ladybug right now," she sighed, leaning against him. He kissed the top of her head gently in understanding.

Chat flopped backwards, laying on his back and looking through the steel beams to the night sky. "I just wish we could be home and this was all over." Marinette curled up beside him, head on his shoulder and arm across his chest. It was a long time before they both fell asleep.

Chat stretched in the morning sun like the cat that he was, yawning. Beside him, Marinette did her usual groan against waking up and curled herself into a tighter ball, throwing her arm over her head. He let out a sharp laugh, poking her slightly.

"What are we going to do today, Milady?" he asked. She mumbled something undecipherable against her arms, refusing to move. He poked her in the side, resulting in an annoyed slap before she curled back up. "Fine. Don't get up. I'll see if I can find some breakfast. You stay here."

In a flash, she uncurled and threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his waist with surprising strength, pressing her face against his chest. "No." Her voice was gravelly from disuse, and he laughed as he hugged her back.

"Ok, ok. I promise I won't leave you."

"Good." She raised sleepy eyes to him. "Now, what are we going to do today?"

"I have an idea," he purred, smirk firmly in place as he leaned forward and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"Chat….." she chided gently, a twinkle of laughter in her eyes. He laughed slightly before hugging her close again and resting his head on top of hers, looking over the city in the warm morning glow.

A movement in the distance caught his eye.

"What was that?" he muttered, letting her go and moving closer to the edge of the tower, focusing his eyes on the space and trying to figure out what he had seen. It appeared again, this time a little closer. He growled angrily when he realized what he saw.

BookWorm stood on a rooftop, beckoning Chat to follow her.

"What do you see? What is it?" Marinette asked from behind him, her own eyes scanning the distance. "Is it Bookworm?"

Gritting his teeth, he nodded, tearing his eyes away from his adversary to look at her.

"She wants us to follow. Should we?" He wasn't sure it was a good idea. She obviously had something up her sleeve. If it was a trap, Chat didn't want to fall for it. But he wasn't one to back out of an opportunity either.

"What choice do we have, really? We have to defeat her to get out of this and she holds all the cards. Let's follow her then."

Marinette was right. Of course, she was right. But it made the hair on his neck stand on end to think of running headlong into a trap.

Motioning to her to climb on his back, she piggybacked as he set out to warily follow their target.

Bookworm wasn't hiding. She would appear on a rooftop waiting to get close then vanish to another roof just down the path. Chat kept a steady pace, letting her direct them across Paris until they were standing on a rooftop in front of the Opera House. It seemed she wanted them to stay in the actual setting of the story.

"Ready, Milady?" he asked, bracing himself for the final lunge to the top of the fancy building. Her yes was quiet, but reassuring in his ear and he vaulted them quickly to their location.

It was quiet within the walls of the house, being early in the morning before the rush of a busy evening. Chat let Marinette down and took her hand so that they wouldn't get separated again. Together they wandered the halls, gaping at the overwhelming grandeur of the artwork and architecture. They climbed the famous stairway and peered into the auditorium from one of the boxes. It was surreal, the richness of every corner of the building.

"She's not here," whispered Marinette, afraid her voice would echo in the giant room. Nodding, he pulled her back down to the hallways behind the curtain where they had first arrived. They remained alone, with no sign of BookWorm at any turn.

Rolling his eyes, Chat made a guess that they would be most likely to find their counterpart in the cellars. She seemed to be particular to the dramatic and that would definitely qualify.

Carefully, they tiptoed their way through corridors and doorways, heading deeper into the spaces beneath the Opera house. The air got colder, the lighting vanishing to darkness, and the walls were damp and plain. Shivering slightly as the eeriness, Chat kept Marinette as close to him as possible, every fibre of his being on the alert as they searched.

There was a rustle of fabric that made him jerk to a halt, stopping in his tracks so suddenly that Marinette's nose bumped into his back. She made a soft noise of complaint, rubbing it with her free hand.

His cat ears vibrated with anxiety as the sound got closer. Desperately, he searched the room, picking the darkest spot and shoved Marinette against the wall with his back against her, hiding her from sight as he kept watch.

A man, dressed in black with a hood pulled up over his face, rushed by, leaving a wake of cold air following behind him. His voice, deep and rich, muttered frustrated words about music and angels, beauty and betrayal before he vanished nearly as quickly as he had appeared, swallowed up into the darkness of the cellars He spared them no glance, allowing Chat to resume his breathing.

A chuckle he recognized came quietly from the opposite side of the room, making Marinette grab onto his waist with trembling arms from her hiding spot behind him. His night vision couldn't see BookWorm anywhere but he knew she was there.

"Get ready, Chat Noir. We are going to bring down the house." Her voice was cold, calculated, and terrifying.

The air around them seemed to move, like a large fan blowing across the room and pushing everything over. A rhythmic pulse pushed through them and Chat felt queasy, legs trembling.

"Time for Chapter Seven" announced BookWorm, voice rattling against the empty walls. There was a distinct thud and with a disorienting whirl, Chat found himself back in the shadows offstage with Marinette still holding on tightly, blinking against the sudden brightness. It was busy again, people running about screeching orders and getting things in place.

"Are you ok?" he asked, untangling Marinette's arms from his waist and helping her stand beside him. She nodded silently, squinting at the sight before them.

"What just happened?" she wondered.

"I think she forwarded the story," he answered, guessing the sound and feeling they had gone through were like pages being turned. Marinette sighed disapprovingly. "I have a feeling that tonight's performance is going to be a bad one."

He scanned the busy audience, desperate to find a clue of where BookWorm could be, as the lights dimmed and the performance began.

* * *

_Author: For those who were wondering because they didn't recognize the last book - it was Divergent from Veronica Roth. ^_^ It's a young adult dystopian future kind of book with lots of action and just enough romance. _

_Sorry that this story is so late today. It was a long day and I had a hard time piecing some of this together, but it finally clicked well enough into place so here's a longer chapter! _


	17. Falling

The apprehension behind the stage was palpable, everyone jumping at every unexpected sound, scanning around for any sign of the Phantom. The young dancers clung to each other whenever they finished their scenes. Singers looked pale. Even the managers from the box where they sat seemed at unease.

Chat, however, wasn't looking for the Phantom. He was looking for a BookWorm. With Marinette's hands wrapped tightly against his arm, he kept alert.

When the first act went along without an incident, Chat found himself feeling less tense. It seemed like the feeling rippled out amongst the stage as well, as smiles and the typical scurrying behind the scenes took over.

The lead female singer on stage was amazing, her voice was unbelievable at times as she delivered a beautiful performance. The audience loved her, clapping and cheering with vigour as every scene ended. Which is why it was such a surprise when instead of a musical note in the middle of a song there was this inelegant sound of a croak that squawked out of her throat.

The whole audience went silent and the singer herself looked like she might faint with the shock of it.

The sight of BookWorm in a box off to the side of the hall, a purple glow staining her cheeks and a confident smile on her face as her eyes connected with his.

Throwing Marinette on his back in a fluid movement, he propelled out of their hiding spot, knowing that as soon as he was visible there were likely to be panic since people would think he was the ghost. Keeping his focus on the box where BookWorm stood, he slammed his baton into the ground and extended it to bring them to the lip of the balcony. As soon as his feet were on the edge, he pressed the button to make the stick shorter and swung it at her as hard as possible, hoping to catch her off guard.

She stumbled backwards when it connected with the side of her stomach, letting out a pained grunt before grabbing his baton with one of her text arms and holding it tightly.

The screams of terror from the audience as they spotted Chat with Marinette clinging to his back began. It set Chat on edge, his cat ears pressed down against his blond wild hair in an attempt to protect his sensitive hearing.

BookWorm grabbed onto her side with her free hand, face scrunched up in pain, as her eyes burned with anger. Chat jumped off the side of the box and rushed forward, pushing her body up against the wall with his arm. Marinette slid off his back and reached around him to grab at the woman's skirt, patting her down in a frantic search for a pocket and her stolen earrings.

She let out a small squeak when her fingers found something and Chat pressed his arm harder against the woman to keep her in place. Marinette fumbled to find the hidden opening to the pocket and reach inside.

A terrible sounding creak behind them made Chat freeze and glance back over his shoulder.

Slithered up the side of the room and across the ceiling were several of BookWorm's tentacles, ending all at the same point - the massive glass chandelier that perched in the middle of the hall. It let out a moan as the chains that held it in place moved against the heaviness and it began to swing towards them. The whole place turned into pandemonium as people tried to get out of the hall.

He let his instincts kick in so he could function, arms around Marinette and legs diving from the box. He felt her arms around his neck, knowing she trusted him fully. Underneath them were seats, an orchestra, and people stampeding out of the way. Pivoting so he could take the brunt of the hit, he braced himself for the impact.

The arms of the chairs smashed into his ribs when he landed on a section where the people had already fled. Despite the shocking jolt of pain, he instantly threw himself to the side, falling to space on the floor between the seats and covering Marinette with his body as the chandelier smashed into the boxes. A rain of shattered glass, plaster, and bits of metal poured throughout the room, covering them and everyone in the way.

As the debris settled, he pried himself off his partner and sat back on the floor, coughing heavily while clenching at his ribs. Marinette just lay there, plaster dust whitening her usually dark hair. She blinked hard before she pulled herself up to sit.

"Woah." She reached out and touched his face gently.

"Are you ok, kitty?" He nodded painfully, not fully sure if he'd broken any of his ribs in the fall. At least the suit had protected him from the glass and plaster. She didn't really seem to believe him but she caressed his cheek softly before pulling her hand back to her lap.

"Good," she whispered, staring down at her fingers, her face pale. Raising her bluebell eyes to his again, he wondered at the look that passed through them before she looked down again.

He watched as she slowly opened her other hand. Inside was a single plain black earring.

One. She'd gotten one. Marinette let out a sob as she stared at the earring in her open palm. She had been so close.

Tears welling in her eyes, she looked at her partner again. He was covered in dust, his face poorly hiding the pain that he must feel as he held his ribs. Most of the audience had made its way out of the auditorium, but there were people scattered all over the place with various injuries and one of the boxes had been completely destroyed.

Closing her fist around the jewel, she carefully stood up, reaching out to give him a hand.

"Come on, we have to get out of here." He took her hand and gingerly got to his feet, letting her guide him out of the opera house before he pulled her close and ran them to the Eiffel Tower where he collapsed to the floor with a groan and rested.

He watched silently as she toyed with the earring that she held in one hand. Her face wore an almost indecipherable emotion, eyes misted over and bottom lip curled under the weight of her front teeth, body hunched over in what could easily be taken as defeat. He said nothing as her thoughts wrestled across her features, ending in a resolve that straightened her shoulders and steeled her eyes. She ran her thumb across the darkened gem of the earring before carefully clasping it into place on her ear, fingers lingering slightly over it when latched. Her jaw clenched as she turned her face to look out over the city in the direction of the opera house.

This was the Marinette that he loved - the one who could be soft and an emotional disaster but could be strong and determined at the same time. She was his Lady. This was the woman he would fight for and protect until his dying breath. He stared at her for a long time, memorizing every detail of her face. It still felt so unreal that this girl was the one behind the mask. How had he never realized it before?

Shaking himself from his thoughts, he slowly inched his hand over to her and took her fingers in his own. A soft smile curled her lips.

"How are you doing, kitty?" she asked.

"I'm ok.." He hoped that sounded convincing enough. The look she shot him told him that it hadn't. She remained silent for a while, fingers running over his ring.

"Do you think BookWorm survived that?" Her voice was so low he almost didn't hear her. Sliding into a sit, he took hold her of her face in both his hands and stared her in the eyes.

"Listen to me. We are going to get Tikki back. We are going to break that woman free from Hawkmoth. We are going to get home. I promise. Do you hear me?" He waited as she searched his eyes for answers, finally lowering her eyes and sighing.

"I know."

"Now that the chaos is over and hopefully people are all safe, why don't we head back to the opera house and see if we can find BookWorm. Maybe we can sneak up on her and get your other earring." She smiled weakly. Leaning forward to brush his lips against hers, he smiled back. "Let's go."

The return trip had been painful, but it was easier to move than before and he made a note to find some extra cheese for Plagg whenever they could find some next. His Kwami had been a hero to power through all these adventures lately.

The main hall had been emptied, the chandelier still resting on its side where it had crashed onto the floor. They carefully eyed the shattered box where they had confronted BookWorm and found no evidence of her there.

Chat did not want to go to the cellars again. Instead, he decided to go higher, searching through the upper floors before heading out to the roof. He didn't really expect to find her there, but he needed a moment to rest.

Marinette unwrapped her arms from his neck and gave him a look of concern. He just waved her off before taking a deep breath to test his ribs. They still ached, but not nearly as much. She touched his cheek gently.

"Be careful, my kitty. I don't like seeing you get hurt."

He was going to answer her with some pun about cats and their cathletic ability when he noticed they were not alone.

On the other end of the roof, Bookworm stood slumped over one of the many statues on top of the building, her empty hand gripping the upper arm of the one that guarded her book. Slowly she raised her eyes, a mixture of pain and anger glaring through her half-closed lids. A long, raw scratch grazed her cheek. Chat looked at her with dismay.

"You're hurt. Please. Give us the other earring and Ladybug can help you," he begged, moving a little towards her. "Please."

Bookworm growled like an injured animal trapped in the corner and took a step backwards. "Get away from me!" she yelped, her face wild with panic. Another step backwards had her perched against the edge of the roof.

Chat froze, arms stretching forward with open palms, too far away to grab her and worried that if he made another step, she would do something foolish. Hawkmoth's purple glow washed over her face and she shrieked, "I know!" before shaking her head as if to clear it.

The woman's foot slipped slightly and she staggered trying to catch herself before tumbling over the side with a scream. Marinette gasped loudly behind him as she vanished. He ran full sprint across the rooftop and dove off the side without hesitation, arms reaching and grabbing the body of the woman who had been nothing but an enemy. Cradling her against his chest, he twisted mid-fall and threw his extended baton against the wall of the building, grabbing one end as the other lodged itself in a gap. The staff flexed and bent severely, pausing mid-arc just long enough for him to drop BookWorm safely to the ground before it rocketed him back into the sky. Controlling the flight carefully, he fell back towards the ground with precision, reaching out to his baton when close, slowing his fall enough to retract it from its lodging and land on the ground with a deep bend in his knees.

BookWorm stood in shock where he had dropped her, eyes wide and confused.

"Why?" she asked breathlessly, voice faltering.

"I'm not a bad guy. I just want to help you. Please." He stood up, begging her to listen, desperate for this to be over. For a brief moment, it looked like she was going to concede. Until Hawkmoth's voice covered her again and she remembered her mission. Opening the book in her injured arm, she began her murmured chanting, portal yawning wide across the stones beside her.

He bellowed for Marinette, who still stood on the roof above, running towards the gape. With complete and utter trust, she stepped over the edge and threw herself towards him, pigtails fluttering in the air as she thrust her arms out to each side and dropped. He ran forward, hammering his baton into the pavement to give himself an upward trajectory as he met her mid-flight with a harsh collision of their bodies. Winded from the impact, he glanced down to make sure they would make it into the purple-toned pit, watching BookWorm lurch herself into it before they followed behind.

* * *

_Author: Some resources for you. _

_1\. If you've never read the real story of the Phantom (and only have seen the musical) - check out the book here: wiki/The_Phantom_of_the_Opera/Chapter_I_

_2\. Did you know there actually is many gems of truth in the Phantom? Was he real? Did you know there really is a lake in the basement of the opera house? 2014/08/26/unmasking-the-parisian-phantom-of-the-opera/_

_I've discovered that when I have a vision of a specific action scene in place, but I can't get what I see into words, slapping on my earphones and listening to "Epic Hero Music" playlists on YouTube very loudly is a totally great way to get surrounded by the experience better. Hopefully what I could see and feel has come through this story so far!_

_The next prompt is "Balconies." Any idea where we're heading next? :D_


	18. Arise, Fair Sun

Getting thrown story to story was getting exhausting. Getting your feet under you within the context of a new place and new scenarios only to have it ripped away was jarring to one's brain. Marinette was ready to go home.

Which is why she was lying in the grass near a brick wall trying not to groan at the conversation she was overhearing on the other side. Chat, on the other hand, had already scrambled up the wall and was peeking over the top with stars in his eyes.

"Chat!" she hissed, gesturing for him to get down. Without success. He just watched dreamily from his perch as the voices on the other side of the wall waxed poetic about how they loved each other and making secret plans to get married the next day. If eyes could come loose from excessive rolling, Marinette's would be lying in the grass beside her.

As the sounds of a door closing and the lovesick voice of a boy on the other side of the bricks faded away, Chat dropped back down to the grass and let out a dramatic sigh.

"Oh, Milady. It's so romantic. We're in the single most romantic story of all times," he cooed, sinking down to a sitting position with his back against the wall. Rolling her eyes yet again, Marinette sat up beside him.

"You just like it because there are so many puns," she grumbled, only to snort when she caught the huge grin on his face.

"There are! Man, I love Shakespeare." Goofy grin in place, he just sighed again and leaned his head back in on the wall.

Of course, he would, she thought.

"You realize that this 'single most romantic story of all times' ends up with lots of people dying and two families mourning the loss of their family members, right?"

"Stop trying to kill the romance, Milady."

She stuck out her tongue at him then copied his example of leaning against the wall.

"So, what happened with BookWorm back there?" she asked him finally. The corner of his lip twisted slightly as he considered what had actually happened. After a moment, he replayed the whole thing to her.

They sat for a while as they considered what this could mean. If they could get through to BookWorm without having to fight her, it could make a huge difference. Marinette absentmindedly touched her empty ear. Tikki. Hopefully soon. She sat staring into the night sky. The moon was full, beaming down on them and casting a soft blue glow, and there were more stars than she could ever remember having seen before. It was kind of romantic - in a cheesy, cliche kind of way.

Suddenly, Chat was on his feet and yanking her to her own, pulling her close with twinkling eyes and the look of complete happiness on his face.

"I love you, Marinette," he gushed, kissing her on the lips. When he pulled away, she just poked him in the nose.

"That's the Shakespeare talking, silly kitty," she reprimanded, but her voice was far too soft to mean it.

"Ok, time to find some food. Plagg is going to give me an earful about how he didn't get enough cheese." With that, Marinette found herself scooped up and carried under the moonlight.

Chat let her go when the got close to the doors of the church in the main square of the town, pushing them open enough for them to slip inside. It was ornate, the flickering light from the candles in the room casting dim shadows over the statues and artwork on the walls. Hand-in-hand they made their way to the altar.

"What are we doing here?" Marinette whispered as Chat stood looking around. He pressed a clawed finger gently against her lips as his cat ears twitched listening.

"This way," he answered her softly, leading her off to the side of the room and through a heavy wooden door. They made their way down some stairs into a space that had several rooms. One of the rooms had nothing but a simple bed, straw sticking out of the mattress with a simple grey woollen blanket tossed over it. "Stay here." He shoved her into the room and pulled the door mostly shut behind him as he tiptoed down the hallway.

He stopped and took inventory of the room, noting the various open books and ink jars, herbs and flowers hung to dry off rafters, vials of curious liquids and colours tucked onto shelves. Off to one side was a table with some food - a large loaf of bread, a huge chunk of cheese, and a basket of apples primarily. Making a quick decision, he hacked off a wedge of the cheese and tore the bread loaf in half, piling a few apples into his arms as well before making his way back to where Marinette hid.

She was sitting on the rough bed, legs crossed and leaning on her elbows. When he slipped back into the room and dumped his haul onto the blanket, she grabbed an apple and bit into it enthusiastically. He closed the door behind him quietly. Rubbing the back of his neck, he gave her an uncomfortable look.

"Do you think we could sit back to back?" he asked timidly. "Then I can feed Plagg."

Shrugging, Marinette rotated herself to face away from him. He crawled onto the bed, pressing his back against hers and tucking his legs under him. With a quiet breath, he dropped his transformation. Behind him, Marinette shuddered a little as the rush of sparks tickled down her spine. Plagg plodded onto the bed.

"This is going to be the death of me, kid. I'm starving! Oo! Cheese!" Plagg zipped to the pile of food and started tearing chunks off the block of cheese with gusto, leaving Adrien to wonder if he and Marinette would get any of it. Probably not, he figured, taking an apple for himself.

He felt hyperaware without his suit: Marinette's hair tickled against the nape of his neck, the warmth of her body seared his back, every movement she made him worry she was going to turn around and see who he was under the mask. That she would suddenly panic and he would lose this special relationship they had been forging together. Seeing Plagg give him shifty side-eye looks between cheese bites wasn't helping either.

"So, Marinette," the little black cat kwami drawled, sitting on her knee. "How's it going?"

"Plagg…" grit out Adrien with a low rumbled warning as Marinette answered with a cheerful "Well, we got one of the earrings back, see?" He felt her head lean sideways to show off the earring.

"Oh, well, that's good." Plagg was up to something. Adrien could sense it. Turning his head over his shoulder, Adrien shot his troublesome kwami a glare to which Plagg just flashed him a grin before continuing.

"You know, Sugarcube has a way of picking really nice people to be Ladybug. Too bad I always get stuck with the messed up kids. Take this kitten, for example, he's got so much going for him, but he's scared that you won't like him."

"Plagg!" Adrien bit out sharply, seriously considering just transforming again to stop the conversation. Marinette chuckled slightly. He could feel the vibrations of it against his spine.

"I mean, all he ever does it talk about how much he loves you. Ladybug this. Marinette that. It's kind of gross if you ask me. Cheese is way better." Adrien flushed head to toe. "But he should tell really tell you who he is. I'd do it, but… you know. Magic won't let me. Ugh. Too bad he's scared to. He's so messed up he thinks no one will ever love him."

Adrien yelped for his transformation, eliciting a knowing smirk from his kwami before disappearing into the ring and changing him back into Chat Noir. Dropping his head into his hands, face burning in frustrated embarrassment, he felt Marinette turn around and hug him from behind, arms slipping around his chest with her face pressed against his back.

"You know, kitty," she said softly. "I know you aren't ready to tell me yet, and that's ok. I'll wait."

He placed his hand on hers and let out a quiet thank you. She really was amazing.

The sun was streaming across the room in a soft orange glow from the small window high on the wall when Chat woke to the sounds of voices outside. His arm was trapped under Marinette's head, its use as a pillow questionable despite how she curled up on it peacefully while she snuggled against him under the blanket. Gently, he pried his arm free and escaped from the cover, standing on the edge of the bed to sneak a peek out the window.

There was an old man, who was obviously a priest as he was dressed in a plain brown woollen robe, a basket hanging from his arm half-filled with various greenery. Beside him stood, in contrast, a young man, likely not too much older than Chat himself, dressed in bright colours of rich material. The younger man spoke to the priest with animated arms and excited eyes. Chat understood the feeling - a rush of romance. Suddenly the younger man rushed off, leaving the older one alone.

Getting down from the window, he heard the door close as the priest made his way back inside. If that priest found him dressed all in black with a mask on, hovering over a girl, he would probably have a heart attack or attempt to send him back to hell with some kind of ritual. Thinking quickly as footsteps came closer down the hall, he pulled the blanket off of Marinette, who whimpered loudly at the sudden change of temperature, and wrapped it around himself like a cloak, making sure it covered his head and shadowed his face. He pressed himself into the corner behind the door.

When it swung open, there was a shocked gasp from the other side, causing an already stirring Marinette to sit up with a start.

"Good Lord, child. You frightened me!" said the old man's voice as he stepped into the room. "Wherever did you come from?"

Marinette looked dazed, blinking slightly as she stared at the priest's face. Her eyes slid over to him in the corner, where she gave a small frown before returning to look at the man at the door.

"I'm sorry, Father. I'm not really sure what happened," she said in her morning rasp, "I got lost and ended up here. I must have fallen asleep."

The old man chuckled.

"No worries, child. Come. Let's find you something to wear."

* * *

_Author: Good call on the book we popped into for this set of prompts! :D Although Chat Noir might like Shakespeare, I will admit I have never been a huge fan. It was interesting to re-read Romeo & Juliet for this with a modern day translation though. For the first time ever, I was able to get through the whole thing without wanting to stab my eyes out with a fork. It could help that I didn't have a teacher trying to get me to analyze every single word along the way as well….._


	19. A Rose By Any Other Name

Marinette picked at her neckline of the dress that Father Lawrence had found for her. It was heavy and plain, but it worked well enough to make her seem appropriately dressed. Stubbornly, she wore her regular jeans and shirt underneath. The priest had forgiven her for the food she had stolen, and had willingly invited her to stay. In return, she offered to help however he needed, leading to the inevitable girl sweeping the floor.

She wondered where Chat had gone, feeling a little jumpy that they were separated. She knew he would be close by; he had promised he wouldn't leave her.

She was sweeping the last of the Father's main working space when the door opened and in rushed a girl. She was taller than Marinette, with long dark hair and incredibly pale skin. Her eyes were a brilliant blue. She wore a long gown and a veil covered her head. She couldn't have been any older than Marinette herself.

Skidding to a halt at the sight of Marinette in the room, the young woman asked breathlessly if she knew where the priest had gone. As Marinette opened her mouth to answer, the man in question arrived from the hallway, a young man in tow. The two youth spied each other and the girl flew to his arms, where they just stared into each other's eyes while the priest chided them about their youth and decisions before asking them to follow him to the altar upstairs, motioning for Marinette to come as well.

As they vanished back into the hallway, she quickly returned the broom back into its place and started to move to follow when a set of black covered arms wrapped around her from behind.

After a moment of surprise, she sank back relieved.

"There you are," she whispered. He kissed her cheek softly before letting her go.

"I'm here. I'll be close by. Go have fun at the wedding!" With a final squeezing hug, he let her go and disappeared again, allowing her to scurry after Romeo, Juliet, and the priest who prepared to marry them.

Chat watched the wedding from the safety of the shadows far across the church sanctuary. It seemed so unreal to be there - witnessing the most romantic secret marriage in the world taking place. It did surprise him somewhat at their ages. They were young. Juliet herself didn't look any older than he was, and Romeo was still in his teens himself, it seemed.

His eyes slipped to where Marinette stood nearby the ceremony, fidgeting with her dress. Could he imagine getting married to her? Absolutely. But at 14?

He was lost in thoughts of marriage and hamsters when Romeo and Juliet clasped onto each other and had their first kiss as husband and wife. His eyes were only on Marinette, who had been scanning into the church until her eyes connected with his - a small smile on her face.

Whispers and kisses followed the ceremony until Juliet rushed away to get home before suspicion set in from her parents. Romeo, in somewhat dazed giddiness, wandered off as well. The Priest asked Marinette if she was hungry, to which she said no, and then he went back down to his living space.

As soon as the old man was through the door, Chat hurried to Marinette's side.

"Isn't so romantic, Milady?" he sighed dramatically, only to get a swat on the arm for his overacting.

"Stop it," she laughed. "Do you think we can do something here other than you hide and me clean all day?"

"We could get married," he teased softly, sinking to one knee and pulling one of her hands to his lips while giving her a very heated look. Her look in return was unamused, causing him to laugh sharply much louder than he intended.

"Ok, ok - how about we go look for BookWorm. I think we can stay hidden on the rooftops here." When she nodded, he scooped her up in his arms and started towards the door, only to freeze when a stern voice yelled out behind them.

Sharing a quick, concerned look with Marinette, Chat slowly turned to face the old priest, who stood trembling with fear, with a cross in his hands.

"Put her down, demon," the priest commanded, his voice strong despite his obvious fear. "You cannot have the girl." Carefully, Chat lowered Marinette's feet to the ground and stepped in front of her protectively.

"Listen, Father, I am not a demon." The man didn't seem convinced. "I am a human like you. I just am wearing a costume. I promise I'm not going to hurt anyone, especially her. I love her."

"Take the costume off then. Reveal yourself," ordered Father Lawrence, bravely staring Chat in the eye. With a frustrated growl, Chat refused.

"I'm not going to do that. What I am going to do, however, is take her and leave." In a fluid motion, he turned, lifted Marinette into his arms, and ran out the doors of the church. Launching them high into the air with a strong jump, he raced along the rooftops of the city away from the church until he found a flat space to stop.

"That's why you were hiding! You knew he'd think you were a demon. A demon who would drag me off into the night," Marinette laughed wildly as soon as he let her go. He couldn't see why that was so funny. She gently cupped his cheek, eyes twinkling. "You, Chat. A demon? Never. Your heart is way too big. You are far too loving to everyone to be a demon."

He pulled her close and hugged her tight.

"Thank you," he said.

Sounds of steel clattering against each other and men shouting on the street below drew his attention. He made his way to the edge of the rooftop where he could see two men circling each other with swords drawn, occasionally coming together in a tangle of practised swordplay before stepping back again to regroup. Romeo stood to the side, looking panicked and frantic, shouting at them to stop. When the two men stepped back from each other again, Romeo took the chance and placed himself between them, only to provide the opportunity for one to reach his sword underneath Romeo's arm and stab the other.

A flurry of action happened next as the injured man stumbled and nearly fell over, hand clutched to his quickly reddening would while the other man was dragged away to an alleyway and people who had gathered on the street all started crying and yelling. A young boy flew off down the street with some intention.

When the injured man was helped away by his friend, Romeo stood in shock in the middle of the street, face pale.

Marinette pressed against Chat's side. "It's hard to watch this," she admitted, "knowing what is going to happen to him."

It wasn't long until fighting on the street returned, Romeo attacking the man who had killed his friend in a rage.

"Come on," muttered Chat, pulling Marinette away from the scene, grating sounds of sword fighting and anger echoing off the walls of the buildings. "Let's go."

Putting her on his back, he took off across the city, hopping from roof to roof in a familiar rhythm, eyes searching for any clue of their adversary. BookWorm didn't seem to be anywhere, only citizens of the city milled about on their regular daily routines. After an hour or so of running around and surveying the sights, he dropped into a beautifully manicured garden, filled with a rainbow of flowers and plants. Marinette took her arms from his neck and slid from his back, stumbling with shaky legs onto the grass with a slight thump and a weak smile.

Plucking a rose, he inhaled the sweet smell, before tucking it gently into her hair over her ear.

She just smiled.

He flopped down beside her, stretching out in the sun, locking his hands behind his head and closing his eyes happily. Marinette lay down and used his stomach as a pillow, looking up at the blue sky and the fluffy white clouds that lazily floated past.

"You are wrong, you know." Her voice was soft. Frowning, he wondered what she could be talking about.

"About what, Milady?"

"That no one could love you."

His heart leapt painfully in his chest.

"I know," he whispered hoarsely. He took her hand and held it against his chest, closing his eyes and resting in the sunshine. She did the same.

The afternoon was quiet and peaceful. At least until someone came screaming around the corner of a nearby building, yelling nonsense about demons and brandishing a sword at arm's length. Sleepily, Chat got to his feet, waking a dozing Marinette and together they took off to the rooftops again.

Sunset loomed on the horizon, colouring the world in shades of oranges and golds. It was beautiful. Chat watched the light splay across Marinette's face, the warm tones contrasting brightly with the blue of her eyes. She casually twirled the rose he had given her between her fingers, bringing it to her nose, again and again, to breathe in the soft smell.

Despite everything that this Akuma had caused them, he had no regrets about any of it.

Together they sat on the edge of the roof until the sunlight had faded and the stars sparkled overhead. Chat's ears twitched and he leaned over to see a young man wrapped in a cloak running down the street beneath them. The man stopped in front of a house, looking up at a balcony.

"Hold on," Chat whispered, "I'll be right back." He lowered himself to the street and made his way to where the man stood.

"Do you need some help?"

Romeo jumped, his back pressing against the wall in surprise, and hand at his chest. Chat chuckled a little.

"I can boost you up if you need a hand?" Chat offered again. Romeo just nodded, too determined on his mission to scale the wall to find Juliet to really take in any details of Chat's appearance.

Chat stepped forward and took Romeo by the arm, extending his baton into the ground to raise them up to the balcony and dropping him at his destination. With a casual salute, Chat dropped back to the street and moved back into the shadows. Romeo vanished through the door.

Smiling, Chat turned to head back to the roof, only to pause misstep at the sight of BookWorm standing farther down the lane with her face raised up to where Marinette was sitting. His heart stuttered as a snake-like feeling wrapped around his throat in panic. He took off at a run, claws clattering against the stones beneath him as he raced towards the akumatized woman.

She didn't even turn at his approach, simply raising her arm to order her skirt to create a wall of text around her. Lowering his head, he pressed forward, ramming into the wall at full speed. A ripple of shock fluttered through his body as it recoiled in response to the hit, causing him to grunt. Almost before he had stopped sliding backwards, he was moving again, baton throwing him onto the roof and feet lunging forward to Marinette. She sat quietly, not even aware of the dangers below.

Without breaking stride, he had her flung over his back and was gone, heading far from their adversary. He left the city, still running, until he found a small barn. Skidding to a halt, he unceremoniously dropped her in a pile of straw, his body tense with anxiety as he paced back and forth, mentally eating himself for a moment of foolishness.

He shouldn't have left her alone. How stupid could he be? He almost lost her again!

Marinette sat in the straw, blinking. What had just happened? One minute she had been sitting on the top of the rooftop, the next Chat had been dragging her away at breakneck speed. He was clearly upset at something, the edgy way he paced like a caged wildcat giving him away. She let him stew for a while, waiting for him to recover from whatever had set him off.

Suddenly, he pounced. Landing softly in front t of her with a thud, he grabbed her face.

"I am sorry. I left you alone. I am so sorry," he said over and over, voice laced with panic as he kissed her forehead and lips and cheeks.

Blinking again, she put her hands over his and made him look at her.

"Chat. I am ok. I'm fine. Stop."

Calm returned to his wild eyes and he slumped down, pressing his forehead against hers.

"I turned around and saw her looking at you. I panicked." She caressed his cheek in a soothing motion, shush in him with a peaceful hush in sound.

"Thank you, kitty."

* * *

_Author: I wanted this to be the reveal chapter. I really did. I even titled this chapter "A Cat By Any Other Name" with the intention of it being the reveal chapter, but apparently Adrien wasn't ready yet. Sorry. :/ My heart is sad. Any day now, Mr. Chat. Let's go._


	20. Under Love's Heavy Burden

Laughter filled the barn. Marinette and Chat sat intertwined on the hay, facing each other in the darkness of the night. She had long since discarded the annoying dress and was happily in her favourite clothes once again. Chat's laughter was uncontained as Marinette finished her story of an adventure with Tikki. It was Chat's turn. What had started as a game of truth or dare had evolved into story upon story of life with a kwami. Plagg, it turned out, had a knack for making Chat's life a challenge. Like the time he hid in the prop boxes at a commercial shoot and Chat had needed to bribe him out with Camembert. Marinette's eyes shone with enjoyment as Chat recounted the time he had snuck up on the little cat and placed a cucumber on the ground. Plagg had quantifiably panicked, nearly catalysming down the whole house before Chat had calmed him down.

Marinette and Tikki had such a different kind of relationship than Chat and Plagg. It was so interesting to hear how different.

"There are definitely days I miss the silence of my life before he showed up," admitted Chat. "But I would be lost without him. Plagg is like a chunk of myself that I didn't even know I had missing. Just …. Don't tell him I said that. He will get a bigger head than he has already." Chat rolled his eyes and Marinette laughed again.

"I understand. Tikki feels like .. my soul, I guess. Like one of the best parts of me anyway." Her smile changed from laughter to nostalgia. "I miss her being my constant conscience."

Rubbing the jewel that hung in her ear, she faded off into memories. That little red kwami was her voice of reason and sanity. Reminding her of her self-worth and boosting her confidence. It was because of Tikki that Marinette was able to fight off Akumas and stand up to bullies.

She jumped a little when she felt Chat gently touch her empty ear.

"She will be back soon, chirping away at you and telling you how amazing you are," he promised. She leaned into his hand.

"I wonder what time it is. We probably shouldn't have napped this afternoon," Marinette chided, although she had thoroughly enjoyed every minute of their sunny snooze.

"Get some sleep, Princess," he offered, leaning back on the hay and pulling her to lay her head on his stomach again. She didn't really want to sleep, but he was so soft and soothing as he stroked her hair softly that she found her eyes drifting heavily with sleep.

It took a while for her to relax into a deep sleep. Chat waited into he could tell she was out fully before transforming and tossing Plagg a lump of cheese from his pocket.

"Don't even say anything, Plagg," Adrien ordered, closing his eyes.

"Me? Why would I do that? It's not like I'm hiding anything from Marinette." The sounds of chomping filled the silence.

"Good night, Plagg."

"Tell her, kid. Trust me."

"I know. I'm going to. Now go to sleep."

The morning arrived sooner than any of them would have liked. Sometime in the night, she'd moved, snuggling her back up against his side. He'd lain awake for a long time after she'd fallen asleep, listening to her quiet, steady breathing and decided that he would tell her. It was time. Even if it made everything awkward - she had to know.

As soon as he felt Marinette stir, Adrien transformed and waited. Waking up to Adrien's face instead of Chat's mask might be too shocking a revelation, he figured. Soon, though. Today.

Marinette yawned and stretched then rolled over, laying her cheek against his shoulder and throwing her arm over him in a half-hug.

"Good morning, Milady." He squeezed her back with the arm trapped underneath her. "Sleep well?" She hummed contentedly against him. A coy grin curled up one side of his mouth.

"Me, Princess? Thanks for asking! I'm feeling straw-some today." She groaned, swatting his chest before sitting up and looking around with another yawn. Laughter rumbled through him as he sat up too.

"Is it paw-sible that Milady is actually getting better at mornings?!" he gasped theatrically.

"No," she answered shortly, rubbing her eyes. "It's just hard to sleep when there's an annoying cat around." That made him laugh again.

He sat silently watching her for a moment while she continued to struggle with getting fully awake. When she finally turned to look at him, he decided now was as good a time as any.

"We, uh, I, uh-" This was going to be harder than he thought. He self-consciously rubbed the back of his neck, a habit that he'd always had for moments when he felt unsure of himself. "I want to tell you something."

She smiled. It was simple really how much that smile could boost his confidence. Pulling his hand from his neck and took her hand in his, running his thumb in circles.

"You know me outside the suit." There. That was a good place to start. Her eyes jumped a little, studying his face more closely. He felt a blush burn across his cheeks as she searched for a clue that would make him recognizable. "The problem is…" He paused, worry nagging at him. He dropped his eyes to watch their hands.

"I want you to know who I am. I really do. But the problem is that you don't seem to like me much without the suit and I don't want you to change your mind about me and decide that you don't want to be with me anymore." He paused, not really sure if he should continue. Words just started pouring out and he couldn't stop them anymore.

"Plagg wasn't exactly wrong when he said I was scared that no one would love me. I don't exactly have a lot of people who care about me in my life - my father isn't a very loving man and my mom -" The words strangled in his throat.

"People tend to like me only because they think that they will get something out of it. Or they only know the me that is shown the world, not who I really am. It's like I have to play this stupid game where I have to be exactly what everyone else wants instead of being myself. I love being Chat Noir because it means I can be free to do and be who I want without that pressure. It's dumb, I know."

His throat felt thick, making his voice sound muffled, but the words kept coming. "But, with you, I've always been able to be real. You tell me you love me when I'm Chat. But, when the mask is off, you can hardly even look at me. I seem to make you really uncomfortable. It's my fault, I'm sure. I'm not really good at friendships. Maybe I should have been better at it. But now….. I have no idea how I could handle it if you decided - if you didn't love me anymore."

He brushed away the warm tears that threatened to overflow from his eyes. Rambling wasn't really his thing. It was too exhausting and now he couldn't even take it back. He kept his eyes down on their hands, watching his thumb trace lazy patterns on the back of her hand, waiting for her to react. To speak. To do anything.

When she didn't, he dared to glance up at her. She was looking at him with an indecipherable emotion misting over her eyes. He slipped his hands out of hers and covered his face to hide everything he was feeling right now.

Maybe it was too much. Maybe it was too late. Maybe she already decided she couldn't be with him anymore.

* * *

Marinette's mind was racing. She knew Chat as a civilian? And, whoever he was, he thought she didn't like him. He sounded so torn and so broken and so lonely. In desperation, she mentally flipped through everyone she could think of that, trying to picture them as Chat Noir and feeling frustrated by the lack of progress she was making.

He looked up at her with his brow pinched and his eyes wet with tears, trying to read her thoughts she supposed, before covering his own face with his hands. She had to say something, and soon - or she would confirm all his darkest fears.

But her voice seemed to be stuck.

Who was the boy behind the mask?

She watched as his shoulders drooped and he looked like he'd given up. He started to get to his feet.

Her brain was still sluggishly trying to piece together the puzzle and images that fluttered through, but somehow it registered that he thought she'd given up on him. Impulsively, she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck, and smashing her lips against his. The suddenness of her reaction knocked him backwards into the straw with her following behind. He was stiff, unsure of the moment, before gently putting his arms around her waist. She pulled her lips off his and looked into his emerald eyes with strong determination.

"Marinette?" he whispered. She just kissed him again. Maybe the foolish boy would understand best that way. His hold on her tightened. The feeling of hope. She pulled back again, gasping slightly for air.

"I'm so sorry. I had no idea. You are always so …. confident. I thought…. It doesn't matter what I thought. I'm sorry that I've made you think I didn't care about you. Because I do."

She paused, examining his face again. Finally, a smile pursed his lips as he let that absorb.

"Who are you?" It came out breathlessly, anxiously, expectantly.

He was ready.

"Yes, Cat - who are you?" A voice from the loft of the barn they were hiding in purred with icy coldness. "You can give me your ring and we can all find out together."

Growling, Chat rolled, pushing Marinette into the straw before landing in a crouch and looking angrily up into the loft where BookWorm stood. She seemed like she'd recovered somewhat, her wounds cleaned up and her arm no longer dangling awkwardly at her side.

She attacked right away, arm flinging forward to shoot text out at the pair of them. Chat jumped in front of Marinette, twirling his baton against the onslaught. Behind him, Marinette stood up and put her hand on his back so he could feel where she was.

BookWorm flung line after line in their direction, an unceasing barrage of text in their direction. Chat's arms were getting tired of the motion needed to continuously counter them with a helicopter action. He felt Marinette's hand splay across his back, pushing him slightly with a softly spoken, "Go."

Unquestioningly, he changed from defensive to offensive, baton quickly back in its holder, grabbing one of the tentacles and jumping high into the air, before swinging back down to wrap it around the rest of the text arms that waved wildly after him. Tangling them together over and over, Chat hung onto them like a vine while BookWorm let out a frustrated scream. Beneath him, Chat could see the shadow of Marinette running across the straw and scrambling up the ladder to the loft where their rival stood, glaring at him with angry brown eyes.

Her text arms knotted together, Chat dropped back to the pile of straw to keep her attention firmly on him. He rushed forward, pulling his baton from his back and drawing it up high to swing at her. Side-stepping the blow, BookWorm recalled her twisted text limbs back into her skirt - making it writhe with confusion as the letters all unravelled back into coherent language and sentences.

Chat swung again, determined to maintain his usual position as a distraction while Marinette crept up behind their villain. His heart pounded as she got close, terror trying not to give him away as he leapt backwards, over the new text lines that BookWorm threw his way. Without her suit, Marinette was vulnerable. He kept moving, trying to keep his eyes from directly looking at his partner so he wouldn't give her away.

When Marinette jumped onto BookWorm's back, Chat lunged forward with his staff, sweeping the woman's feet to try and knock her down. Instead of tripping, the librarian spun around, flinging Marinette off into the open space of the barn and slamming Chat down into the wood of the loft floor with one of her extra arms.

He watched Marinette fall safely into the hay pile, breathing through his nose when he knew that she was ok, before twisting himself out of the grip and rushing towards BookWorm with renewed vigour, flattening his baton against her shoulders and holding her arms in place. A snarl escaped his lips as he pressed her back into the wall of the barn.

"Enough!" His voice was harsh and short. BookWorm's eyes faded to a purple and she thrashed against the baton. "Marinette!" But she was there already, having quickly regained her feet and climbed the ladder as fast as she could. Marinette was searching pockets frantically while BookWorm hissed.

"You won't win, you know."

He heard Marinette yelp in pain, hands jumping to her hair where text from BookWorm's skirt had enmeshed itself into her pigtails and started yanking her head backwards. Chat's jaw clenched as Marinette was dragged to the floor.

"Let her go," he warned, pressing the baton harder against the woman, trying to figure out whether he could hold her in place while searching for Marinette's earring in the skirt pockets.

"Give me your ring." The answer was fast, easy, obvious.

Teeth bared, Chat resisted the urge to punch the woman with the fist holding said ring, instead of removing his baton from her shoulders and swinging it angrily at the limbs that pulled at Marinette. The ribbons had come loose from her pigtails and the text was grabbing her hair more tightly - only jerking slightly as Chat battered against them.

BookWorm let out a sharp laugh.

"You are foolish. You make yourself incredibly weak because of that girl. It's amazing Hawkmoth hasn't beaten you both already."

He turned, eyes on fire.

"I will always be stronger because of that girl," he seethed, baton slamming into her side. "Always!"

"Love is unreasonable. Just think of Romeo who is going to die tomorrow because he thinks sweet Juliet is dead. Foolishness. Just like you. If I hurt one of you, the other will react. It's so predictable." BookWorm laughed, the purple glow getting brighter.

Chat attacked her again, but she just continued to laugh as text yanked his arms back, forcing him to step backwards.

"I have the perfect story!" she exclaimed, flipping open her book and starting her quiet murmurs with her eyes lit up. He fought against the restraints uselessly as a portal appeared at his feet.

"Chat!" gasped Marinette, stretching out her arm to grab his tail.

And then they were falling through the unknown again, all the limbs that had tangled around them releasing them suddenly as they fumbled through the haze to each other. What did BookWorm have in store for them now?


	21. Always Winter and Never Christmas

Why did it have to be more snow? That's all that Marinette could think when the fog cleared and they found themselves in the middle of a full out blizzard. The air was frigid, instantly cutting into her skin and making her breath appear like crystalized mist in front of her face. She shivered despite her efforts not to.

Chat instantly wrapped his arms around her, pulling her as close to himself as he could. For a moment, they just stood together, sharing each other's body heat while they tried to make a plan of action.

"We need to find shelter," she suggested, trying to peer through the heavy snowflakes for some kind of landmark or sign of a place to hide without success. Nodding, he chose a direction and they trudged through the drifts. Marinette's toes were frozen in no time, her slip on flats not designed for the winter weather.

They couldn't find anywhere to wait out the storm. Marinette was getting worried. Having already succumbed to the dangers of the cold once before, she didn't want to feel like that again. Chat's suit seemed to ward off most of the chill for him, so she snuggled in as near as possible while still being able to walk.

Chat bent his head slightly over his shoulder, his ears twitching as he listened. He pulled her to a stop, frowning as he strained to hear over the sound of the whistling wind. Suddenly, he shoved her back into the trees away from him, turning around with a wild hiss, stance defensive.

All Marinette saw was a blur of grey and black fur flying through the air in his direction, knocking her partner to the ground. There was a scuffle, Chat struggling against the snapping of sharp teeth and claws that lunged at him. A wolf! Chat made some progress against the beast, shoving it off him and leaping back to his feet, his baton firmly in hand. Marinette's heart pounded in panic as she watched her partner fight against the powerful creature.

It was then that a second wolf appeared from the white world as if he was a dark ghost. His blazing eyes staring at the cat and the wolf locked in combat. Slowly, his gaze turned and looked at her - freezing her in place. He was massive, his paws bigger than her head. He took a step towards her where she stood against the trunk of a tree.

"Who are you?" he asked his voice more like a growl than words. "Are you a daughter of Adam?" Marinette couldn't understand, eyes wide as the beast moved closer. The heat from his breath burnt her frozen cheeks, the smell of rot made her gag. Pressing his wet nose close to her, she turned her face and crushed her eyes closed, hoping she would still remember to breathe while the wolf inhaled her deeply. He let out a low rumble as he stepped back to study her face.

Chat's baton was unexpected, smashing the wolf over the snout at full strength, turning the creature's attention to the boy in the cat suit instead of the girl against the tree. The smaller wolf who had attacked him first knocked Chat down face first into the snow as the larger one bellowed angrily. Marinette felt her stomach heave while she watched its razor sharp teeth clamp down on Chat's leg with a sickening bone-crunching sound before he shook the boy like a rag doll and tossed him into the trees where Chat's body slammed heavily against a thick tree trunk.

Marinette's scream was muffled by the panic that closed her throat. The creature turned his eyes to her, making a step towards her again.

"You don't seem like a Daughter of Eve," he said. "But she did say to kill anything we found." He bared his teeth, ready to strike, and Marinette collapsed to her knees on the ground, covering her head with her arms.

A barely audible "cataclysm" came from behind her, and there was a cracking sound of wood. The wolf's eyes widened in surprise. In a cloud of white snow, a tree landed with a loud crash between Marinette and the wolf.

The wolf narrowed his eyes at Chat and then Marinette before deciding to go. "Leave them. They aren't who we are looking for. Go to the Beavers' dam."

The other wolf nodded, loping into a sprint into the blizzarding darkness. With a final snarl in their direction, the leader bounded off after him to continue the mission.

Marinette clamoured to her feet, racing to Chat who unsteadily held himself up only by his staff and sheer will. The instant she was by his side, he collapsed into the snow. She pulled his head into her lap, tears stinging her cheeks.

"Oh Chat, don't die. Please," she begged. He cracked open his eyes, pain evident.

"I'll be ok, Milady," he grimaced. He struggled to sit up, his face contorting with agony before his eyes rolled back into his head and he passed out in her arms.

Marinette's first instinct was to hit full panic attack, the pressure of which began on her chest and smothered her from breathing, but she knew she had to hold it together in order to help Chat. Forcing herself to keep breathing in a semi-rhythmic format, she decided step one was to check exactly how he was hurt.

Laying his head carefully down into the snow, she moved to his leg, nearly vomiting at the sight of the damage that the wolf had caused to it - the bone visibly sticking out from the mangled mess of muscle and flesh. It was bleeding fairly profusely, so she shrugged off the only extra material she had available - her jacket and, with a slight cringe, ripped it into pieces, carefully attempting to staunch the flow.

A beep startled her, setting her close to panic mode again, but scrunching her eyes shut she made herself get centred, breathing deeply. His leg was bad, but she decided to check for any other injuries. Running her hands along his ribs, chest, and arms revealed nothing urgent and his head only had a slight bump. There was another beep. Three minutes left.

"I'm sorry, Chat. I might find out who you are before you are ready," she whispered, shivering against the cold despite the adrenaline and anxiety that pulse through her veins. She kicked through the snow until she found a few thick branches, tying them to either side of his injured leg with the strips of her torn jacket. Her makeshift splint would have to do for now.

Another beep. Her heart thumped nervously against her chest. This wasn't how she wanted to find out who he was.

Slipping her arms under his, she grabbed on and started to pull. He was heavy, a dead weight against her as she dragged him down the path. Although she was loathe to go the same direction that the wolves had vanished, she knew they had walked for a long time from the other way. Too far to drag Chat's injured body.

Grunting, she kept inching along the snowy path, making slow progress. The final beep rang out like a bell tolling. In desperation, she tried pulling faster, her muscles screaming from strain and body teetering on the edge of frozen. When the green light began to flash at his feet, she slumped to the ground, squeezing her eyes shut with a soft sob.

"I'm sorry, Chat," she whimpered, afraid to look. Keeping her eyes closed, she struggled back to her feet, pulling him again, unsure if the shivers that trembled through her body were because of the cold or because the boy in her arms no longer had on his suit.

"Marinette." A voice called and she opened her eyes to see Plagg in front of her.

She let out a sob as she met his concerned green eyes.

"He's so heavy, Plagg. I don't know if I can do this much longer." Her voice was raw, exhausted, but she tilted her head up to the snowy sky and kept dragging. Plagg disappeared behind her only to return shortly after.

"There's a house ahead. You are almost there. You can do it." It felt strange to have encouragement from Plagg, but that's exactly what he was doing. She kept her eyes firmly on the snowflakes above her and grit her teeth as she heaved.

"A little more. Almost there." A cheerleader. Pushing her to get there. She could do it.

The ground under her feet changed from snow to ice, making her slip slightly. Pulling Chat was easier on ice, but she could barely stay standing herself.

"Any wolves?" she whispered to Plagg, who shook his small head with a disgusted look.

"No dogs around here. All clear."

Looking over her shoulder, she found a small house tucked into a river that looked more like a beaver dam than a home. The door had been broken in, with deep scratch marks etched into the ice beneath it.

Eyes on her destination, she continued to pull Chat, inching closer and closer. Finally, they were inside. Closing her eyes, she lay him down on the floor before getting to her feet and, opening them enough to find the door, moved over to it to wedge it closed against the wind. Slumping against the wood, she rested her forehead.

"Marinette. It's time to look. He's going to need you to look after him. Please." Plagg's voice was softer than she'd ever heard it, dropping his usual snark. "I can't do it, Marinette."

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she slowly turned around, first making eye contact with Plagg before her eyes dropped to the face of the boy she had called a partner for so long. Her legs trembled and failed her, leaving her in a heap on the floor by the door.

* * *

_Author: One Kitty was injured in the making of this chapter. Sorry. :/ _

Pressing her hand against her mouth, whether in fear she would be sick or in an attempt to stop herself from screaming, she realized she was hyperventilating. Because there, on the floor, white as a ghost with his leg in a makeshift splint was none other than Adrien Agreste.


	22. Bravery

Plagg rolled his eyes as Marinette appeared to have a mental breakdown. Teenagers were so dramatic. When she didn't seem to be snapping out of it, he wondered briefly if he was going to have to slap her back to reality.

"Hey, Ladybug. Get a grip," he barked, poking her in the nose sharply. She blinked hard, taking in a deep breath, and shook her head.

"Sorry, sorry. You are right," she mumbled, staggering to her feet and heading over to where Adrien lay.

Plagg groaned. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Adrien Agreste. Chat Noir was freaking Adrien Agreste. Marinette didn't know how to react, how to feel - her brain kind of tearing in two between hysterical laughter and uncontrollable sobbing. Plagg poking her on the nose brought her back to reality, reminding her that it wasn't just Adrien, it was an injured Adrien. Dragging herself over to him, she checked his leg. The bone was still sticking out, and there was blood everywhere.

"We're going to have to set it," Plagg said matter-of-factly. Marinette shot him a horrified look.

"I don't think I can do that," she admitted, feeling her face grow pale and her hands shake.

"No choice. Do it. You are Ladybug. You are brave."

Marinette did not feel very brave; indeed, she felt she was going to be sick. But that made no difference to what she had to do. *

She channelled her inner Ladybug, steeling herself with determination. Adrien was worth it. Looking around the little house, she found a sink. Scrubbing herself clean, she grabbed as many blankets and towels as she could find along with a needle and some heavy thread. Wrapping him in one of the largest blankets, she knelt beside his broken leg. Taking a deep breath, and with a reassuring nod from Plagg, she gently pushed down on the bone and carefully lined it back up with the bottom half.

Adrien groaned loudly, flopping his head back and forth, but thankfully stayed unconscious.

As soon as it was in place, she tenderly washed his leg and psyched herself up for step two - stitching the gap closed. Trying to keep her hands from trembling, she pushed the needle in and out, taking care to make small, tight stitches that would hold the wound closed. After tying a knot at the end of the thread, she tightly wrapped the wound with a clean blanket, putting the splint back into its position in hopes to immobilize his leg.

When she finished cleaning everything, she allowed herself the luxury of shock, dry-heaving over and over into the sink where she'd scrubbed her blood-covered hands clean.

Her whole body trembled, exhaustion from the stress of the last little while sinking in deep. She wasn't sure she could walk anymore, so she fell to the ground and crawled her way over to Adrien. She tucked the blankets in tighter around him.

For a little while, she just leaned against him, staring at his face, memorizing every line and feature for the thousandth time. How had she never put together the faces of the two most important boys in her life was beyond her. Without the mask, it was easy to see how Adrien was Chat. Gently brushing his tangled blond hair out of his eyes, she leaned forward and kissed his forehead.

"I love you, Adrien Agreste," she whispered, laying her ear on his chest to listen to his heartbeat thump against it. Tucking her knees up, she curled herself into him and closed her eyes, allowing herself to fall into a deep and dreamless sleep.

* * *

He was proud of her. Tikki had chosen well.

Pulling a blanket over Marinette's shivering body, Plagg settled himself between the pair, tail wrapping around his little body and falling asleep with them.

* * *

The first thing Adrien felt was searing pain in his leg that tore up his body. The second thing was the pressure of Marinette leaning on his chest. The third was that he wasn't wearing his suit, a soft blanket rubbing against his bare arms.

Fighting off a wave of nausea, he racked his brain to remember what had happened. He could vaguely picture a wolf attacking him and needing to use cataclysm to save Marinette. From there, it was fuzzy.

Slowly, Adrien opened his eyes and looked around. He was lying on the ground in a hovel-like building. There was a sewing machine to one side, a table with a few chairs, a small little kitchen, and a set of small bunk beds carved into the wall. It was small enough to be cozy but big enough that it didn't feel crowded.

A pain shot through his leg making him hiss quietly. Plagg jumped up off his shoulder and looked at him with a strange look.

"I know she's great and all, but can you try not to get bitten by a dog again, kid?" The little being rubbed himself against Adrien's cheek.

"Sorry," Adrien rasped quietly, trying not to wake up Marinette. "What happened?"

Plagg explained, telling Adrien about Marinette's work at dragging him to this house and about how she had reset his broken bone. He was amazed at how strong she was. He couldn't imagine how impossible having to do something like that would have been.

"Does she know?" Plagg just glared at him irritably.

"Yes."

Adrien worried for a moment, trying to look at her. How had she reacted? She either was ok with it or she had been too exhausted to care. Either way, she was still here with him. That had to count for something, right?

"I can see you are back to good old overthinking," Plagg drawled. "She panicked, she hyperventilated, she fixed your leg, she tried throwing up in the sink, she said she loved you and kissed your head and then passed out listening to your heartbeat. I think she loves you as much as I love cheese."

The kwami floated back to his cozy spot on Adrien's shoulder and flopped back to sleep. Adrien lay stunned for a minute taking in all of the wryly spoken information Plagg had just offered. She still loved him.

Trying not to move his injured leg, he attempted to look at her again. She looked peaceful. Accidentally twisting his leg, he felt the pain of his action rip through him like fire and he was nearly sick. Clenching his teeth against the pain, he tried to regain control of himself, only to have it intensify sharply.

Crying out slightly, he felt the edges of his vision go blurry before he sank back to sleep.

* * *

Something woke Marinette with a start, causing her to sit up abruptly. At first, she was completely disoriented, taking in the foreign surroundings with confused eyes. Then it all came rushing back and she jumped, twisting around to look at the boy behind her on the floor.

Adrien.

It hadn't been a dream after all. Adrien really was Chat Noir. Letting her head fall into her hands, Marinette took some steadying breaths as she mentally put the two of them together. It seemed impossible, but it was easy to see now.

She had never realized how much her awkward stuttering and behaviour around him had impacted him so much. He believed that she hated him. The thought tore a hole in her already tender heart. He was so far from the truth. She loved him. She had from that very first day that they'd met - his hand touching hers when he selflessly passed her his umbrella in the rain, just like she'd fallen in love with Chat when she'd literally fallen into his life the first day as superheroes, dangling tied up together with her yo-yo rope from his baton.

On both sides of the mask, he'd been kind, he'd been her protector, he'd been her friend. He'd encouraged her in everything she tried, a quiet support in each area of her life. He loved her.

Raising her head, she stared at him as he lay there sleeping.

"There isn't any cheese," whined a voice across the room, making her jump in surprise. Plagg hovered near the kitchen table, looking completely annoyed. Marinette chuckled, forcing herself to stand. Every muscle in her body screamed at her - a side effect of dragging a body through the woods and sleeping on the hard floor.

"I'm sure you can live without it for once," she chided the little black cat, who didn't seem to agree. She looked around the room at the supplies available - eying the little oven curiously. "Do you like bread?" His eyes perked up immediately, so she started pulling everything out that she would need.

Putting Plagg in charge of watching it rise, Marinette decided she better check on Adrien who still was asleep. Plagg had said he'd been conscious at some point in the night, but he hadn't woken up again.

He looked flushed and had thrown the blanket off his body. Gingerly, she touched his forehead and frowned at how hot he seemed. Examining his leg, she discovered that it was a nasty red, making Marinette worried. Carefully, she washed it again and wrapped it back up. There was only the slightest moan from Adrien.

"What do I do, Plagg?" she asked the kwami, who just kept his back to her curling his little back slightly.

"I don't know. I don't fix things."

Marinette tucked the blanket around Adrien again and went back to making the bread. Thankfully she had made it so many times that it was familiar, keeping her just busy enough to focus on what she had to do instead of letting her brain wander away into panicland.

After pulling the bread out of the oven to cool, with explicit instructions for Plagg to wait, Marinette sat on the floor beside Adrien, gently stroking his face and quietly talking to him about the moments she'd tried to get him to notice her - the blue scarf, stealing his phone because she'd left a stupid message, the elaborate plot with the girls to get them "accidentally" together… there were so many.

Sighing, she rested her head against his heart. Hearing it's steady beat helped her feel calm, even if he was still asleep. At least he was alive. She closed her eyes and listened, feeling his chest rise and fall softly.

"Please come back to me, kitty," she whispered, opening her eyes again. Only to find his open and looking at her.

Bluebells on Emeralds.

She choked on a shaky breath as he raised a hand to cup her cheek, a faint smile ghosting his lips.

His voice was rough when he spoke.

"Hi."

* * *

_Author: So, apparently angsty, injured, emotionally charged chapters are my "thing." I got so invested in this section of the story that I ended up writing the next 3 days worth of content in a single day. (Sorry that I ignored you all day kids...) I promise to bring us back to light and fluffy soon - hopefully._

_* credit to Mr. C.S. Lewis for a phenomenal line that I just couldn't pass up…._


	23. Pillows & Blankets

He felt horrible, the pain in his leg making him nauseous. But the look in Marinette's eyes far outweighed everything else he was feeling. He blinked, shocked, as tears welled up in her eyes before she grabbed onto his shirt with both of her hands curled into fists and dropped her face into it sobbing. He ran his hand over her hair, feeling the soft wetness of her tears soaking through his shirt.

"I'm sorry, Princess," he whispered. To that, she jerked up her head up and stared at him in horror.

"For what?" she quavered. "It's me who should say sorry to you!"

He shot her a confused look, not really sure what she meant.

She jumped to her feet and started pacing nervously, arms waving through the air as she began one of her classic over analytical rants.

"I'm sorry for everything! I'm sorry for pushing you away all these years as Chat because I was in love with someone else, which incidentally ended up being a non-issue after all - but I know that hurt you over and over. I'm sorry that I made you feel that I hated you as Adrien, which is totally hilariously wrong, by the way because I couldn't handle talking to you without sounding like an idiot. Maybe it is because I AM an idiot that I couldn't talk to you. I mean, seriously, who can't talk to someone they say they love? You have always been the kindest hearted guy, and I just didn't even know how to act whenever you were around."

"Marinette," he interjected, but she just kept going.

"I'm sorry that you felt so nervous about how I would react when I found out you were Chat Noir - and holy crap! Adrien Agreste is Chat Noir?! I'm sorry that I've been so selfish that I couldn't even see how I was making you feel all this time. And I'm sorry -"

"Mari, stop," he tried again.

"I'm so sorry that I lost my earrings to BookWorm and that we've been stuck on this crazy - whatever it is - and that I've left you to have to take care of me all the time instead of being able to do this together. I'm sorry that you keep getting hurt, your leg-" she whimpered mid-rant, " your leg is broken and it's all my fault. If I had gotten the other earring back, we could have beaten her by now and-"

"MARI!" he shouted, startling her into silence as she looked at him wide-eyed. "Stop. Please." She pressed her lips into a tight line. "Come here."

She drooped, sliding down beside him to land on her knees, head bowed. He reached up and touched her cheek. Her eyes rose to meet his again and for a long while he just searched in them.

She had said that she loved him - both sides of him - in that wonderful rant. She had loved Adrien. She loved Chat. She loved all of him. He couldn't believe it. He had been worried for nothing.

"I love you," was all he said.

There was a breath of a moment between them. Which was promptly interrupted by Plagg.

"And I love cheese. Right now, though, I want bread. Is it ready yet?"

* * *

Marinette rolled her eyes. Gluttonous little cat. She smiled at Adrien before walking over to the kitchen and tearing a large chunk of bread off for his kwami, who almost sounded like he was purring as he attacked it.

"Do you think you can sit up?" she asked Adrien, who looked significantly paler than he had when he'd woken up. He didn't look sure, but he nodded, letting her step behind him, slip her hands under his arms and guide him into a sitting position. He looked like he might pass out again, as he flopped his head to his chest and struggled to breathe. She could see his jaw was tightly clenched. Probably in an attempt to hide his pain from her.

"Can we find a place for me to lean? I'm not sure I can sit up alone for long," he grimaced.

"Ok." She started to pull him back, with the intention of helping him get to the wall behind her. The sound he made was somewhere between a strangled scream and a muffled cuss word, sweat beads forming against his forehead as he clutched at the thigh of his broken leg. She froze.

"Keep going," he ground out between his gritted teeth, bending his good leg to shove himself backwards. Somehow she managed to get him propped up against the wall, a pillow stolen from one of the little bunk beds behind him for comfort and a woollen blanket wrapped around him. It took a while for him to be able to speak again. "How bad is it?" he panted finally, gesturing at his leg with eyes steady on her face.

She blanched. He nodded with acceptance.

"I figured it was bad," he whispered.

"You need to eat something," stated Plagg from the kitchen with a mouthful of bread. Nodding, Marinette jumped back to her loaf and broke the remaining chunk in half, passing one to Adrien before tearing a small chunk off for herself and popping it into her mouth. Adrien made an uncertain face, but took a small bite and chewed on it slowly.

* * *

As he swallowed, he prayed it would stay down, but he wasn't so sure with the way his stomach churned wildly. Marinette was watching him like a hawk so he shot her a weak smile, hoping she wouldn't react to his obvious queasiness. She just took another bite of her own bread without smiling back.

Chewing another small piece, he vaguely remembered Plagg telling him in the night that it was broken and Marinette had put it back together. The amount of pain that kept pulsing from the injured limb definitely confirmed how badly it was hurt. There was no way that he could walk, even with Plagg's support in the suit. Without his powers, the two of them were basically sitting ducks in this little hut.

They couldn't stay here until he'd healed. Broken bones took weeks to heal if they were set and held in a cast. He looked down at the splint that Marinette had made for him, wrapped in blankets. Even with all the work she'd done to help him, he wasn't sure if it would heal properly.

If they could get Ladybug's earrings back, he was sure that her Miraculous cure would fix it. Technically it was from the Akuma's attack since the story was from her. But there was a part of him that wasn't sure.

He contemplated what life could be like with a damaged leg. No more fencing, he supposed. He would miss that. Fencing was the one thing he loved to do outside of his exploits as Chat Noir. Especially now that he had Kagami to challenge him to get better.

And forget being Chat Noir. How could he run on rooftops and dodge Akuma attacks with a leg that didn't work right?

Nevermind his father's disapproval. A shudder ran through him as he pictured the Gabriel Agreste stare of disappointment with his cold, steel-grey eyes. His father wouldn't be able to call him "perfect" now. Adrien felt a small stab of pleasure from that.

Pulling himself out of his silent reverie, he blushed slightly when he caught Marinette studying him. He held out the rest of his bread to her.

"Can you save this for later? I'm really tired right now." She nodded, taking it gently and putting it back on the table. Plagg eyed it eagerly, looking like he'd just take care of it right away instead.

Adrien's body felt heavy, his brain sluggish, and he closed his eyes for a moment under the weight of his eyelids. The effort involved in staying awake was too much, especially while attempting to keep his mind off the shooting pain from his leg.

Vaguely he heard the sound of Marinette shuffling around the room, softly chiding Plagg who apparently had eaten most of the bread, and the water running in the sink. It was peaceful. Soothing. He could feel himself drifting into sleep.

It was the weird prickling sensation on his neck that brought him back to a level of consciousness - the feeling that something was wrong. It made him edgy, worried, and his senses on full alert.

"Marinette," he croaked in a warning. She was by his side before he was even fully aware. She stared into his eyes as he frowned. "Something -"

There was a loud thud outside the door, making the floor quiver slightly underneath them. Marinette's eyes blew wide.

"Come out, come out wherever you are~" sang BookWorm's voice from the other side of the door.

The two teens just stared at each other, panic chasing between them.

"What do we do?" whispered Marinette, her voice hollow. Adrien swallowed back the bile that was rising in his throat, a single thought crossing his mind. He dropped his gaze to the ring on his hand, flexing his fingers slightly. He clenched his jaw and looked back at her with a fire of determination. Marinette took in a sharp breath and whispered "no." He ignored her.

"Plagg - " he began, tensing himself up in preparation.

"No." Plagg's voice was authoritative. Adrien blinked in surprise, his determination fading to doubtfulness. Plagg liked to complain, sure, but he'd never outright refused before. The kwami had a look of pure anger, arms crossed.

"But we have to-"

"No," Plagg said again.

"Here Kitty, Kitty~" called BookWorm from outside. Adrien sighed, letting himself relax again.

"So then, what do we do?" he asked Plagg. His kwami just raised an eyebrow and flicked his eyes over to Marinette then back to Adrien in a silent message. Adrien frowned as he looked down at his ring again, fiddling with it on his finger. With a sharp, accepting nod, he gently slid it off and pushed it into Marinette's hand.

"It's your turn," he said, not fully trusting himself to look her in the eye. He could feel the shock radiating from her.

"I - I can't!" she stammered. "No, Adrien - I can't!"

"Yes you can!" he snapped. "I can't. You have to fight her." He lifted his eyes and took in her appalled look. She looked green, ready to run, holding the ring in her palm like it was on fire. She didn't move, frozen in what he figured was her nervous uncertainty.

"You are the strongest person I know, Marinette. I know you can do this." It was like someone had hit her with something, the way she responded to that. Her back straightened, her eyes lit up, her fist curled up with strength as she nodded.

Getting to her feet, she slipped the ring on her finger - too big for her small hands. With a glance at Plagg, she held out her fist.

"Plagg. Transform me."

* * *

_Author: Crap - this is supposed to be a MariChat story… not Mari as Chat story….. :/ I'm not sure where I've gone off the rails here._


	24. MariCat

Marinette watched in amazement as Plagg vanished into the ring and a bright green glow began to sizzle at her feet. Her eyes were wide as she stared at Adrien, the transformation washing over her body. Mask, ears, tail. It felt different than when Tikki transformed her. This felt heavy - like electricity tingling across her skin. Dark instead of light. The suit felt familiar but completely new at the same time.

Her outfit was the expected black, similar to Chat's but without the bulk of his armour-like extras. It was sleek and simple, like what she wore as Ladybug. Flat footed black boots encased her legs up to her knees, matching the elbow length clawed gloves on her arms. Both of them folded back slightly at the cuff, revealing a green lining that was pinned down with a shiny black circle.

Low on her hips sat a thick belt in a lime green colour, dangling down behind her nearly brushing the floor. The end of her tail had black stripes, tiger-style. Her collar was a thick band of the matching green, gathering together at her throat with a single clasp ornamented with a small green cat-eye gem encased in a silver ring.

Pigtails remained, although they had shifted up high onto her head, with her soft kitten ears nestled into the joint where green ribbons held them in place. A simple domino mask completed the look converting her blue eyes to green. Unlike Chat, whose baton was housed against his back, hers was strapped to the side of her thigh in a holster.

Adrien blinked hard.

"Wow," was all he said, shock combined with a look of awe on his face. She smirked, giving him an overacted wink before racing out the door.

The ground outside the door was ice - the frozen aftermath of a magical winter, and her newly booted feet slid, causing her to make a rather unimpressive entrance to her confrontation of the enemy they had been battling for way too long. Flashbacks of her first day as Ladybug whizzed through her as the feelings of inadequacy attempted to surface. She shoved them down. She could do this. She'd been Ladybug for a long time - she knew her body and how it worked. This was just a different suit. Admittedly, though, she missed her yo-yo.

BookWorm stood on the ice above the house, on top of the smooth stretch of water that pooled against the dam. When she caught sight of Marinette dressed in the cat outfit, she laughed.

"What happened to your tomcat?" she taunted.

"Narnia business!" shouted MariCat, pausing when the words spilled out of her mouth. A pun?! She was both horrified and slightly amused at the same time. BookWorm chuckled loudly.

"Maybe not, but at least I now only have to defeat you to get the Miraculous."

"There is only one of you too you know!" MariCat snapped back, pulling the baton from its case. It was so different than her yo-yo, strong and forceful.

A rumble started low in her chest as she crouched into a predatory stance. BookWorm just looked amused, completely unthreatened.

"I beat you once already, KittyBug. Don't forget that."

The rumble changed into a growl as MariCat pounced, baton swinging. BookWorm lazily flashed her arm forward, releasing a slew of words to easily knock MariCat onto the ground. Rolling quickly to avoid being pinned down, she sprung back into action, jumping high into the air with the intention of landing on her opponent from behind. Only, BookWorm was ready for that, using her text to pluck MariCat from the sky and slam her again to the ground.

Attempt after attempt was met with the same result, MariCat failing to make any progress. Instead of the usual self-doubt that plagued her when things didn't work, MariCat felt anger broiling in her gut. It scared her a little, knowing she could release the rage and let it consume her. Did Chat have to control this darkness every time he fought?

Shaking her head of the thought, she held her staff out in front of her like a sword. When the text arms came at her, she swirled the pole to wrap the words around it then yanked against them hard, pulling the baton against her chest with a satisfying thump. BookWorm stumbled forward, caught off balance, getting within grabbing range. MariCat lunged for the book, only to be thrown sideways with a sharp hit to the head.

Snarling, she swung the baton out in retaliation, aiming low in hopes to continue the momentum caused by the stumble. BookWorm fell forward, flopping roughly on the ice. Moving quickly, MariCat jumped on her, pressing her knee into the woman's back. The book was trapped underneath, so she couldn't take it, but she reached down and tried to find the other miraculous earring in BookWorm's pocket.

BookWorm squirmed, trying to break free from the hold, forcing MariCat to press down harder. Despite her efforts to prevent it, one arm slithered free. With a sharp laugh, the librarian thrust it out. MariCat wasn't ready for the sudden pummel from the left side, grabbing her by the arm and wrenching her down to the ice with a hard thump.

Frustrated at her failed attempt to grab her miraculous back, MariCat pulled hard on the baton, jamming it into the ice and using it to vault herself backwards. BookWorm stood up with a wicked grin.

Realizing the straight up attack strategy wasn't going to work, MariCat tuned into her natural strength- seeing a clear plan. She looked around while she swatted away BookWorm's advances.

Her tail belt. The river below. Her hand. BookWorm's text lines. A branch that overhung the ice. Pieces fell into place in her head.

With one final offensive attack knocking her down, MariCat tumbled sideways, pulling her feet under her and ran towards the dam. Jumping off the roof of the house, she somersaulted onto the river below, sliding slightly as she regained her footing on the ice. BookWorm appeared at the edge of the dam, giving MariCat a curious gaze before jumping down to the river with her.

Tucking her head with a little grin, MariCat raised her hand and yelled Chat's trademark saying: "Cataclysm!"

* * *

Adrien couldn't take it. Being trapped in here while she was out there fighting was giving him a panic attack. All he could hear from time to time was the sound of thumping from above the house, not giving him a great idea of whether Marinette was winning or losing. How he wished for their usual cocky mid-fight banter to at least have some idea of what was going on.

Debating the possibility of dragging himself across the room to the small window on the opposite wall, the sound of someone landing on the roof made it for him.

Steadying himself against the pain that he knew was coming, he pivoted his body so that he could crawl with his good leg and arms without putting pressure on his broken one. The first wave of agony made him cry out sharply, knocking the breath out of his lungs. He had to force himself to continue. Arms shaking with the effort it took, he managed to get across the small room and pulled himself up to look out the window glass. His breath clouded the pane, and he rubbed it clear as fast as he could.

Facing the house crouched Marinette, dressed head to toe in black, eyes glowing a menacing green. She stayed still, waiting. There was another thump on the roof as BookWorm jumped in front of the window, gliding towards where Marinette hunched.

When Marinette yelled Cataclysm, Adrien's eyes grew wide. What was she doing? His heart forgot to beat.

In a deft movement, Marinette's darkened hand hit the surface of the ice before she leapt up into the air, twisting around herself like a gymnast. Somehow, she managed to unbuckle her belt mid-leap, creating a lasso that she threw onto a branch that hung out over the river. As she came down from her jump, she wrapped the unattached end around her arm, creating a pendulum. There was a horrifying loud crack as the ice disintegrating beneath BookWorm's feet, causing her to stumble.

Adrien felt the ground beneath him shift sharply with the change in the ice outside. Unprepared for the sudden movement, he threw out his arms in an attempt to stop himself from falling over only to land awkwardly against his broken leg. A scream ripped from his throat, muffled only by the sound of the splitting ice outside, and he collapsed to the ground on his hands and good knee, struggling to breathe while the world felt like it was a whirlpool. Trembling, he flopped himself onto his back and let himself drift back into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

MariCat watched on the upswing as BookWorm stumbled while the ice cracked beneath her, forming a crevasse into the deep river. Her adversary did just what Marinette had anticipated, throwing her text arms out to wrap around MariCat's body. Smiling to herself at the success of her plan, MariCat swung her feet hard, gaining momentum before preparing to jump to the shoreline where she had every intention of reeling the woman in like a fish.

The sudden snap of the branch she was using to swing from surprised her, changing her direction to a sharp descent. She hit the ice with a painful grunt, arm still wrapped around the branch. Quickly she stood up, yanking the belt off the branch, and braced herself as much as possible against the tugging of the text coiled around her waist as gravity pulled BookWorm into the gap.

Ice made it impossible to get her footing, making her slide towards the edge without much effort. Thinking quickly, MariCat pulled the baton out of its holster and extended it as far as possible and holding it with her arms spread slightly apart. She stopped fighting the drag, letting it pull her over the lip and into the gap, turning the staff quickly so that it stretched across the void while she held on for dear life.

She had no idea what exactly she was going to do now, dangling from Chat's baton over a 60-foot drop with the weight of an akumatized woman holding her on the waist. It was the first beep that started her desperate thinking. Maybe she could try her pendulum attempt again - but BookWorm's grip wasn't going to help that succeed.

Below her, BookWorm made sounds that MariCat couldn't really decipher.

Her cat ears pivoted, a sensation unlike any other, flapping slightly at the sound of steps slipping and sliding on the ice.

"Hold on! We're almost there!" a voice yelled. As if she had anything else she could really do at this point, she thought. She repositioned one hand, trying to get a better grip on the baton as the pressure of gravity tried to drag her down.

At the edge of the cliff appeared four young faces of children, urging her to stay calm. MariCat stayed calm, at least on the outside, while the ring beeped again.

It was then that the text from BookWorm unwound itself from MariCat's waist, causing her to fall. MariCat twisted to look down as the woman fell through one of her portals. For a brief moment, MariCat considered following her, but the thought of Adrien in the house with a broken leg stopped her.

"Can you shimmy here to the side so we can pull you up?" the oldest boy asked. She did as she was told, and soon, hands grasped her arms and pulled her up over the peak onto solid ice. She reached back and pulled the baton off before reducing it back to holster size. The ring only had a few minutes left, so MariCat released the transformation, catching Plagg as he flopped into her hands.

"Cheese…." he lamented. She gently rubbed his head between his ears.

"Thank you, Plagg," Marinette whispered to him. "I don't know if there is any cheese but there might be some bread left." She placed him onto her shoulder, where he nestled against her neck.

Next, Marinette turned her eyes to the group of youth staring at her.

"Hello," she began. "I'm Marinette. Thank you so much for helping me."

The oldest of the children, who looked to be close to her own age, thrust out his hand.

"Peter. Welcome to Narnia."

Each of the children introduced themselves: Susan, Edmund, and Lucy before Marinette jumped up with a gasp and ran towards the Beaver's home. Flinging open the door, she cried out Adrien's name in horror, not finding him where she had left him but instead collapsed on the floor by the window. A fresh round of bleeding had soaked through the wrappings of his leg. In an instant she flew to him, gently pulling his head into her lap and brushing her fingers against his cheek in a comforting motion. The action made the light flash against the now silver ring that dangled on her finger. Silently, she slid it off and returned it to where it belonged.

"Thank you, Chat," she murmured before kissing his forehead and returning to caressing his cheek, rocking softly.

The children followed behind her, slipping into the Beaver Dam with familiarity as they took in the sight of the girl they'd rescued holding the unconscious body of a boy not much older than their brother. There were some silent eye exchanges before the youngest stepped forward.

"I can heal him, Marinette, if you will let me," she offered. Marinette's eyes popped open, jaw falling ajar as she remembered that Lucy carried a small vial of healing liquid in the story of Narnia.

"Please," she cried.

Lucy smiled, pulling the stopper out of a glass-like flask, and leaned over Adrien. She squeezed his jaw gently, forcing him to open his mouth, and ever so carefully let a couple of clear drops dribble inside. She replugged the vial and put it away, rocking back on her heels.

"And now, we wait," she whispered.

Adrien opened his eyes, confused about how the pain had vanished from his leg. He was sure he had broken the stitches and made the wound so much worse when he'd fallen. Maybe he was in shock. Marinette's blue eyes were peering down at him from where he lay with his head on her lap.

"Hi," she whispered. "How do you feel?"

He frowned, cautiously moving the leg that he had broken. There was no pain at all. He sat up and stared at the limb like he was crazy. Slowly unwinding the bindings, he was shocked to discover that the wound had vanished.

"It's…. It's gone?" he stuttered, looking to Marinette for answers. A young voice laughed from behind him and he turned to see the faces of four smiling children grinning at him.

"Lucy did it," announced Marinette. The young girl's grin somehow grew wider as she nodded.

"Thank you," said Adrien, still confused. He leaned back against Marinette's legs and curled himself up into a ball with his head on her lap.

"I think I need a nap."

* * *

_Author: _

_Yay for MariCat?_

_I know that the time frame here is askew from the book that they would already be done fighting and such, plus, I don't think they technically came back to the Beaver's Lodge when it was over, but… had to make it fit within my story. Couldn't make Adrien suffer too long….._

_And now, back to your regularly scheduled MariChat May... They have a week to figure this all out, get the earring back, beat the bad guy, save the day, and get home... Get to it, kids!_

**UPDATE: LOOK! Thank you to ConstanceTruggle for commissioning this MariCat artwork from Eden Daphne.** (On my Tumblr site) lyramae-archer. tumblr post/187402064734/lyramae-archer-look-its-the-thing-edendaphne

[Sorry. FFnet is dumb about links. You can see it on Tumblr, plus Eden posted it on her IG and Tumblr on August 31, 2019]


	25. Le Chat Botte

Adrien rested his head on Marinette's lap with his eyes closed, listening to her talking with the characters from Narnia while she tenderly stroked his hair. Her laugh as she responded to the stories they told warmed his heart. Finally, he sat up and joined them, taking note of Plagg stealing the rest of the bread loaf from the table before he floated around in search of more.

What had happened to BookWorm, he puzzled. Obviously, Marinette hadn't beaten the Akuma, as she still was missing one of her earrings and they were still in this book. He surveyed the faces of the children. Maybe they had helped in some way.

"So, are you like a catgirl superheroine or something?" Lucy finally asked. His eyes snapped to Marinette's face as it flushed a deep red.

"Not exactly?" she admitted, returning his look sheepishly. He gave her a brilliant smile. "He's the cat hero, really. I was just a temporary substitute."

"She's an amazing superhero on her own, though! She's Ladybug. She's the best," he interjected, gloating a little at the opportunity to sing her praises. She blushed again. Total win.

Evening fell and the children all crawled into the bunks on the wall. Adrien pulled Marinette close to him on a pile of blankets and pillows on the floor, eager for a chance to talk about what had happened. She snuggled herself into him, tucking her face against his chest while she wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm so thankful you're better," she murmured. "That scared me so much." He pressed his cheek against her hair.

"Tell me what happened out there." He needed to know.

"I thought I had her. I really did. But the branch broke and we fell into the crack. I managed to get the baton across the gap to hold us. BookWorm made herself a portal and dropped into it. She escaped." Marinette paused. "What do you think that means for us if she's gone already?"

She pulled her head back to look up at him.

"I have no idea," he frowned. Could BookWorm jump back here? Or was she in another story now and they were trapped? It was a weird feeling to think they could be stuck in Narnia. While he contemplated that, a curious look flickered through her eyes.

"Can I ask you a question? About…. being Chat?" She hesitated when he nodded silently. "So…. when I was transformed, there was this - " She made a confused face. "Darkness?"

He knew what she was talking about - the undercurrent he knew was there deep down as Chat that he kept carefully under control. He just nodded, not really sure how to explain.

"Ya, it's there. I think most of Plagg's cats have been really angry or hurting people. I guess it could be easy to let myself fall into that. My life hasn't been the best at home." His voice trailed off. Frowning, he pictured his life and how he could easily tap into that negativity. "But…. I don't use it," he admitted. "I've never needed to, really." He touched her face. "I love being Chat Noir. Especially because of you." She blushed softly.

"By the way," he added huskily, "I think I should lend you my ring more often." Her eyes widened like saucers. With a smirk that usually was reserved for his alter-ego, he winked at her, laughing softly when she went a deep crimson red.

Pressing his lips against her forehead, he snuggled her close again, mentally cataloguing the memories of her dressed in his suit. Yep, he would definitely like that.

"What would we call you, anyway?" he mused. "Catwoman is already taken. Black Kitty?" He thought for a minute. "Oooo. I know…. Ebony!" She giggled against his chest.

"Only if I can give you my earrings and call you BugBoy," he heard her mutter, making him chuckle.

"Deal."

* * *

In the morning, Lucy threw open the door to the Beaver's dam and raced outside excitedly. Adrien shoved Plagg into his pocket before grasping Marinette's hand and following behind with the rest of the children. The world outside looked much different than it had when they had arrived only a couple of days earlier.

The snow had mostly melted, revealing a sea of green grass. The river had started to run again, rushing along in a peaceful babble, filling in the large gap that had been left by the fight. Spring had made its appearance, and the happy sounds of birds and chirping insects greeted them.

The older children watched Lucy twirl happily in the meadow, throwing her head back and laughing. When there was a rustle in the trees surrounding them, she squealed and clapped her hands, eyes shining.

"Aslan!" she called joyfully. Adrien turned to look at where she was running, tensing a little as a giant, golden lion emerged from the trees. Lucy threw her arms around the neck of the beast when he stopped a short distance away from the rest of them. The other children raced over to the lion, who just lowered his head and softly rubbed against them.

When the lion turned his gaze to where the two outsiders stood, Adrien unconsciously shifted slightly to put himself in front of Marinette. Her hand squeezed his gently. A feeling of both terror and peace flushed through him at the same time.

"Welcome, outsiders." His voice was smooth, but ringing with authority, as he eyed them knowingly. "I see you are healed. Good." Adrien nodded then bowed his head slightly.

"You are far from home," Aslan continued. A flood of anticipation rushed through Adrien as he considered if the Lion might be able to help them.

"Can you help us get home?" Marinette asked, a tone of hope in her voice. If Lions could smile, Adrien was sure that the expression Aslan wore at that moment was one. A pause of consideration followed, leaving Adrien with the realization that he was holding Marinette's hand more tightly than he meant to. Loosening his grip, he waited for Aslan's response.

Finally, the Lion spoke. "I could, child, but then you wouldn't get what you need." Adrien felt the slump of disappointment ripple across his shoulders. Behind him, Marinette let out a slow breath.

"You have a task to do. It is not my place to interfere with your story." The Lion cocked his head to study them. "But I can help you leave Narnia. That much I can do."

Stepping forward to the teens, he paused. "Change first. You never know what will be on the other side." Nodding, Adrien poked at Plagg who dozed in his favourite pocket.

"Already?" he whined before Adrien transformed into the comfortable suit of his superhero self. Flashing a sly grin at Marinette, Adrien turned to Aslan with a bow.

"Thank you," he said reverently to the creature. Looking over to the four children, he bowed again. "And thank you."

They each smiled and waved goodbye to which Marinette did the same. it felt a little weird to say goodbye - each story along the way had ended so abruptly that they hadn't had any chance to do that yet.

Aslan seemed to smile again before opening his mouth and breathing on the two of them. Chat grasped at Marinette's hand, holding tightly as warm air swirled around them. It felt like they were melting away, vanishing somehow as the heat touched their skin. Everything faded to nothing, leaving only a soft pair of golden eyes that shone brightly before they closed and disappeared along with everything else. He felt Marinette throw her arm around his neck, digging her face into his collar bone with a soft whimper. He slid his arm around her waist, sinking his cheek into her hair as the sensation continued. Finally, things began to appear.

Shades of green came to life against the mist of nothing. Then a brilliant blue. A clear sky materialized over their head. Blinking at the brightness of the sun as things came into focus, Chat looked around in slight confusion.

They were standing in the grass beside a rippling river. It was so eerily similar to the place they had left, and yet completely different. Marinette looked just as dazed as he felt.

"Where are we?" she muttered, shielding her eyes from the sun with one hand as she surveyed the scene.

He did the same, scanning the river until he made eye contact with a young man hiding in the water. The man frowned then did a shooing movement with his hand before sinking deeper into the river.

Another movement caught Chat's eye - closer to his feet. Looking down, he was surprised to find a cat. The cat was orange lined with darker orange tabby stripes. Soft green eyes peered upwards, staring up at him in open curiosity. The thing that caught his attention the most was that the cat was standing on his hind legs. Legs which were garbed in a pair of brown leather boots.

* * *

Marinette groaned. Cats. It always had to include cats. She was getting a little tired of the same old, same old.

"Predictable," she muttered, causing Chat to snap his eyes back to her face. Raising one eyebrow in a silent dare to prove her wrong, Marinette crouched down and stuck out her hand to the boot wearing kitten.

"Hi. I am Marinette. I am guessing you are Puss?" The feline narrowed his eyes as he evaluated her. A noise on the road startled the cat, causing him to hiss and jump backwards.

"Hide now," he commanded, pointing to some bushes near the river. "Stay hidden until I say you can leave." Marinette stood up, shrugging, and pulled Chat to the bushes where they crouched down and watched with amusement. Watching a cat waddle on his back legs while wearing boots was entertaining. She had to cover her mouth with her hand to avoid giggling. Chat kept shooting her curious looks whenever her shoulders would shake slightly.

The noise on the road turned out to be a carriage. When it pulled to a stop and someone leaned out the side, the little cat bowed eloquently in welcome. They couldn't hear what he was saying to the people inside, but they did see the person crane their neck towards the man hiding in the river. One of the men who was driving the carriage got off his seat, unhooked a horse and took off quickly.

It wasn't long until the horseman reappeared, a bundle of fabric in his arms. The cat carefully took the bundle, bowing deeply, before walking back to the man in the river.

"Get out, towel yourself off and put these clothes on," the cat commanded. Dutifully following the orders of the cat in the boots, the man looked quite noble when he was fully dressed. With the cat as a chaperone, he made his way to the carriage, where he was welcomed inside. It resumed its procession down the road.

The cat stayed behind, turning to them as soon as the carriage vanished out of view.

"Get out here," he ordered. Marinette tried not to laugh out loud at the cat wearing boots who seemed to think he had some kind of authority. But, nevertheless, she dragged Chat out of the bush. The cat looked less than amused. Neither did her Kitty.

"I have no idea who you two are or how you got here but since you are here now… let's go. We have an ogre to defeat."

And with that, the cat started to sprint away, leaving the two teens slightly surprised. They blinked at each other for a moment before Chat shrugged and threw her on his back to follow behind.


	26. A Tail of Two Kitties

The ogre apparently lived in an impressively large stone castle, complete with moat and drawbridge with ivy climbing the stones. It seemed appropriate given the fairy-tale like world they had landed in.

The three of them stood on the crest of a small hill overlooking the area.

"There's an ogre that lives in this castle," explained Puss. "He used to live in a nearby swamp, but I guess the guy who lived here ticked him off, so the ogre claimed it." Puss eyed Chat slightly. "I have an idea. Up for a friendly challenge?"

Chat returned the challenging stare with one of his own. Being this close to another cat was making him feel on edge as if they were competitors and he had to win. Puss was up to something, he could feel it, but the need to win overruled Chat's common sense. Face carefully displaying a casually cool disinterest, he nodded slowly.

"Good!" Puss clapped eagerly. "Let's see who can get the ogre out of the castle." Chat narrowed his eyes. "I'll even be generous. You can have the first try."

Tearing his eyes off the small booted creature, Chat surveyed the estate suspiciously. There wasn't any sight of the ogre that Puss claimed lived in this castle, but he was sure there was something in there.

He could do this. He fought bad guys for fun. What's an ogre going to really do anyway? Try to eat him? He laughed to himself at the idea. One more crazy story for the grandkids he supposed. "Once, I was almost eaten by an ogre!"

Realizing he was letting his imagination run away with him, he turned and bowed deeply to his rival before coiling himself tightly in preparation to race across the field to the drawbridge. Marinette's voice pulled him out of his focused plan of attack.

"Chat. What are you doing?" he heard her say softly, her hand reaching out to touch his arm. He forced his body to relax for a moment then turned to look at her. Man, he loved her.

A wild shot of possessiveness tore through him. Grabbing her tightly, he pulled her close and began to rub his cheek against hers, a loud purr rolling through his chest. She giggled. The sound made him want to rub her cheeks forever with his. He felt her hand splay across his chest and his heart jumped, the beat racing under her fingers, a warm blush singeing the skin where she touched.

"Chat?" Her questioning voice was low and laced with some confusion.

"Mine," he murmured in response, rubbing against her other cheek. The word cut through the tomcat haze and he jerked back as if she was fire, dropping his hands to his sides. What was he doing? He was torn between a strong instinct to grab her again and a human respect to back off. His embarrassed eyes searched her face. She had this look of concern mixed with laughter in her bluebell eyes.

"Sorry," he said, mortified at his own behaviour. When she just smiled and her eyes twinkled it took every ounce of his will power to avoid yanking her close and starting again. He turned away abruptly, eyed Puss up and down with a slight growl rumbling through his chest, and took off in a run towards the fortress with the drawbridge.

The gate was closed.

"Hello?" he called out, wondering more about the opponent he was about to face. When there was no answer, he tried calling out again.

Nothing.

With a disappointed sigh, Chat casually walked across the drawbridge and jumped onto the ivy vines, scurrying his way up the wall to the top, and climbing over the battlements. Now to find an ogre.

Chat carefully made his way around the ramparts, keeping himself focused in his search. Finding a set of stairs, he tiptoed down to the open courtyard. His cat ears fluttered slightly, catching a faint sound. Following its direction, he found himself in a great hall. It was a huge room, built with heavy wood. For the most part, the room was empty, but at the far end of the hall sat an oversized wooden table laden with all sorts of foods - fruit, meats, bread, cheese. Behind the table was a monstrously sized wooden chair. The chair housed what Chat assumed was the ogre.

The monster was comical - his head was largely disproportionate to his body, trumpet-like horns sticking out where ears should have been. His skin was green. Although the girth was wide, his body looked fairly soft, betraying the obvious strength of the beast. He was tall, too, at least it looked like it since the ogre's head reached the top of the massive chair with ease. The creature just stared at him with disinterested brown eyes which were shadowed by his thick dark eyebrows, using his ragged teeth to tear the meat off a giant bone with a loud smack of his thin lips.

The stench was almost overpowering, but Chat managed to keep his face straight as he approached the table.

"You know, I've heard that living in a castle is pretty ogre-rated. It's all big and fancy on the outside, but cold on the inside. Don't you think?" The ogre just sat there, chomping away, face passive. "It's kind of like ogres I think. Big and impressive on the outside, but on the inside…." Chat let his voice trail off, as he looked the ogre up and down. The ogre continued his meal.

"Anyways," Chat started again, pulling out his baton and casually leaning on it. "Listen. I know that ogres don't really like castles much. I hear that there's a really great swamp near here - I bet that it's perfect for a nature lover such as yourself. You know, mud, and trees, and bugs…. Wouldn't that be more your style?"

The ogre's eyes narrowed a little and he grunted before he tore off another hunk of meat.

Chat sighed quietly, wondering how he could get the ogre to leave the castle without a physical attack.

"Ok fine. Here's the deal. I need your help. There's this girl -" he began, wondering if honesty might actually work. "She's super special to me. Frankly, I want to impress her." The ogre grunted again. "Any chance you'd be willing to leave the castle?"

"You talk too much," the ogre finally said in a low deep rumble. A big fist rose from the table and pointed at the door. "Get out of my castle!"

Chat blanched a little at the loudness of the monster's authoritative yell.

"Wait, wait. Listen. I was trying to be reasonable with you first. Apparently, meatheads like you aren't able to be reasonable."

He flipped his baton up into his hands and jumped, only to get swatted away like a pesky fly with a single blow. He tumbled into the wall, baton clattering to the ground with an echo in the hall. The ogre stood up, scraping his chair loudly and, with a few small steps, reached the boy on the floor. He picked up Chat by the leg, dangling him in the air and studied him curiously. The ogre picked up the baton and shoved it at the teen before striding to the doorway and heading outside into the courtyard. Climbing the stairs to the ramparts three at a time, he stood at the battlements with his prize still pinched between his fingers.

Chat felt queasy. Being upside-down was something he was familiar with, but usually not this long and definitely not while being bounced up some stairs. Grasping onto his weapon, he wondered what the ogre was going to do.

The ogre brought Chat closer to his face, causing the hero to gag slightly at the overwhelming smell of rot.

"Get. Out. Of. My. Castle."

And then Chat was flying through the air, his body twisting and falling with a yelp. He landed with a loud splash in the cold, wide moat, taking in a mouthful of water as he gasped for air on impact. Pushing himself to the surface, Chat made his way to the shore, coughing and spluttering, his baton still in grasp. He used it to steady himself as he turned back around to stare up at the ogre.

"You are TOTALLY going to get de-moated today - whether you like it or not," he growled loudly. The ogre just gave him a stare before turning and disappearing back into the courtyard.

Chat shook the water off his body in annoyance and made his way back to where Marinette sat on the grass.

"Doesn't look like it went so well, kitty," she mused. He shot her an annoyed glance before he plunked down beside her.

"Apparently not," he responded. "Where's Puss?"

She shrugged, falling back into the grass to stare at the clouds in the crystal blue sky.

Chat searched the front of the castle, wondering where the cocky little cat had gone. It wasn't long until he could see a small orange creature approach the castle door, something in his hands. The gate opened and the cat strode in with a confident swagger. Chat growled softly, flopping back on the grass with Marinette.

Her fingers reached out and intertwined with his.

"So," she said casually, "want to talk about what the heck happened before you went into the castle?"

"No." No, he didn't. The thought embarrassed him. That was not a conversation he wanted to have today. At least, not until Marinette leaned in closer and whispered in his ear, "Because I really liked it." He jerked back and looked at her with wide-eyes, a squeak escaping his throat. She just smirked.

He was saved by sounds coming from the castle. Sitting up abruptly, he watched in amazement as the ogre came lumbering out of the gate and over the drawbridge, vanishing into the woods.

"How did he do that?!" Chat growled in frustration as the orange cat coolly sauntered into view and gave them an over exaggerated wave. Marinette just laughed, jumping to her feet and pulling him to his. Hand in hand, they walked calmly to the castle drawbridge.

Puss was leaning casually against the gate when they got there, a brazen look of triumph on his features.

"I win," purred Puss, giving Chat a smug glance. Chat had to resist the urge to bare his teeth and pull out his claws. "I think I should win the girl."

Chat hissed, eyes constricting to thin pupils while pushing Marinette behind him defensively. Puss just howled with laughter and wandered into the courtyard. Chat struggled to maintain himself.

"Calm down, kitty," Marinette said softly, putting her hand on his arm. "I'm not sure what's going on with you right now, but shh." He closed his eyes for a moment to regain his composure, breathing in slowly. She was right. Something WAS going on, and he couldn't quite place it. He was feeling agitated. Stupid Puss.

* * *

An hour or so later, the carriage approached with the man from the river and two other passengers, a royally dressed man and a beautiful young woman. Puss welcomed them with a deep, respectful bow and lead them inside.

Chat and Marinette stayed off to the side, out of the way. Chat couldn't stay still, finding himself pacing anxiously with his eyes trailing the orange feline.

The whole castle had been scrubbed and washed, all traces of the ogre was gone. A fancy dinner had even been prepared, although Chat didn't really know how everything had gotten done. People had appeared out of seemingly nowhere, rushing around in a flurry of activity.

The people from the carriage sat at the large table and prepared to feast. Chat pulled Marinette inconspicuously to a seat off to the opposite end of the table from Puss. During the meal, Marinette chatted away happily with the people around them while Chat just sat tensely observing everyone. He smirked a little at the obvious interaction between Puss' master and the young woman from the carriage.

After the food had been cleared away, Puss jumped on the table top.

"We need some entertainment!" he declared. A hearty round of table banging followed his proposal. Putting a paw to his chin, Puss looked dramatically thoughtful. "I have an idea!"

He hopped off the table, sashaying towards where Chat sat. Chat bristled slightly, even when Marinette shot him a comforting glance and placed her hand on his arm.

"Let's have a duel," announced the cat tauntingly. "Do you fence?"

Chat tried to control the response that surged through him. Fencing. Ha! Marinette raised her eyebrow at him as he casually shrugged in response.

Getting to his feet, Chat took the offered foil and let himself sink into a well-practised feeling of competition. This annoying little cat was going to regret this choice.

Facing each other in the middle of the hall, Chat allowed familiar confidence to exude from as he set his stance.

"En garde," he said with a smirk, glaring at the cat across from him.

It started out playful, following the formal rules of fencing and carefully politeness. Each cat pressed and lunged, sidestepping and counter-attacking with grace.

However, after several rounds of fighting, the swordplay became more aggressive, weapons flashing, teeth bared, and eyes burning angry holes into each other. A low rumble of growling and hissing seemed to emanate from both of them.

One would think that Adrien's many years of training and championships combined with his human size would give Chat Noir an unfair advantage. Shockingly, though, they seemed equally matched - Puss making up for his size with speed and cunning.

Chat wanted to beat down the little cat, his mind focused on careful parrying and offense. Puss, for his part, never yielded.

It wasn't until the young man from the river stood up and clapped loudly to get their attention that the two cats broke it off, panting with exertion, eyes still locked in combat.

While everyone clapped and chatted about the demonstration, Chat threw down his sword and marched out of the hall, glaring at Puss as he left.

Once outside in the cool air of the evening, Chat paced the courtyard, trying to calm himself down. It was like every fibre of himself was on edge. he wanted to claw something.

"Chat?" he heard from behind him. whirling around, he found Marinette standing along his pacing path. He leapt to her, reaching out to hold her again, only to force his arms back to his sides, balling his hands into fists.

"What is going on with you?" she asked finally after spending a good minute watching his face. He felt like he was going crazy.

"I don't know," he admitted. "I feel like I can barely control myself at the moment." He frowned at her as she considered his words.

Instead of speaking, she stepped closer. His hands twitched as his body screamed to hold her close. maybe that would calm him down. He was just afraid that he wouldn't be able to stop burying his nose into her neck or rubbing his cheek on hers. He drew in a ragged breath.

Her eyes focused on his as she stepped even closer. She was almost touching him now and his heart galloped unsteadily at how near she was.

"Oh, my kitty. I think you are just a jealous tomcat," she said softly, touching the side of his face. He jerked back a little at the touch when it felt like pins pricking his skin. Breathing hard through his nose, he dropped his head and closed his eyes.

"Calm down, kitty. It's ok. No little orange cat is going to take me. My heart only belongs to one cat. That's you." Her gentle voice washed over him, soothing the internal agitation he was struggling with. She touched his cheek gently again and this time he pressed against it.

He gave in, pulling her to him and pushing his face into her hair.

"Thank you," he told her, her smell steadying him against the jittery sensation he had been fighting all day.

"Better?" she asked when he finally unwound his arms from around her. Nodding, he let her lace her fingers between his and pull him over the drawbridge to the field.

"I want to stargaze," she exclaimed excitedly. She flopped down the grass throwing her arms out and staring up at the darkening evening sky. He felt peace settle back into him as he watched her joy-filled face. He dropped onto the grass beside her, smiling as she snuggled close and folding her hand into his, laying it against his heartbeat, allowing himself to relax.

* * *

_Author: The ogre in the original story had the ability to change forms. Puss in that story cunningly convinces the ogre to change into a small creature and hide safely from the approaching humans. The ogre changes into a mouse, which Puss then eats, taking the castle for his master. In a nod to the much popular ogre, Shrek, I thought I'd change things up just a little. _


	27. Stargazing

Marinette lay listening to Chat's soft snoring as they lay under the stars, enjoying the peacefulness of the night. She had never seen him act so possessive and jealous as he had all day. It reminded her of a tomcat protecting his territory. In some ways, it made her laugh. In others, it annoyed her that he thought he had some claim on her.

Shaking it off, Marinette looked over at her partner. It still felt unreal that the boy behind the mask was Adrien. Add in that Adrien loved her and she just felt like this had to some kind of crazy dream. But she knew this was real. Somehow.

Nestling into his shoulder, she smiled a little as he made a happy purring sound in his sleep.

Not really tired, Marinette allowed her mind to wander. These adventures through literature had left her fashion design mind whirling, and she itched for a pencil and her sketchbook where she could document them all in glorious detail.

She mentally traced the lines of a dress inspired by her Victorian ball gown, more sleek and modern than the dress she had worn, but still stunning. She paired it with a man's suit, complete with a top hat. She imagined a sketch of tattered layers of drabbed coloured clothing, like those of the Buckets, with bits of gold luxurious material showing through the tears, revealing the secret inside. Heavy black clothes cut in sharp angles with unique fastenings were inspired by their time in the dystopia future. As soon as she had that sketchbook, she would be on fire with ideas.

She was just in the middle of imagining how a simple Greek tunic could be modernized when she felt Chat stir. His eyes met hers with a slow blink.

"Sorry," he apologized, "I guess I fell asleep." She smiled at him. Silly kitty. She was happy to just be with him, even if he was asleep. "How are the stars?"

She laughed, looking back up to the sky. "Beautiful. We never get to see this at home. Paris is too bright." He hummed in agreement.

"I wish I had my sketchbook," she admitted after a few minutes of stargazing. "My brain is exploding with ideas." She felt him rumble under her hand.

"Sounds right. Tell me what you are designing in your head." So she told him, in detail, about every outfit she'd been envisioning. He just listened, asking questions from time to time to get a better idea of what she meant. She rambled on and on, her creative brain going a mile a minute. He just laughed and squeezed her when she cut herself off apologizing, planting a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Never apologize for being passionate about something," he told her. "I will always love listening to you tell me what's going on in that head of yours. Just promise me something…."

She looked at him with one eyebrow raised.

"What's that?"

"When I take the mask off again, that you won't turn into a stuttering, flustered Marinette again? I know I'm paw-some and all, and with this face - who wouldn't be stunned at my beauty, but … I love when you are just you. Strong. Beautiful. Determined. Creative. Wonderful. You never have to be afraid of me. Promise?"

She couldn't talk for a moment, a lump in her throat as he declared his love for her. Would she ever get tired of hearing that? Probably not.

"I will try," she squeaked finally. He beamed in response, and her heart skipped a beat. She wasn't sure she could keep that promise.

"Good," he breathed, tipping her chin up to press his lips against hers in a chaste, soft kiss. She sighed. She definitely wouldn't be able to keep that promise. Adrien Agreste made her heart race - how could she ever speak a coherent sentence again?

* * *

Chat woke with a jolt, heart pounding. Something was wrong. Marinette was burrowed into his side, head on his shoulder and arm thrown carelessly across his chest. Straining his cat ears, he listened for anything that could have triggered his panic. Nothing. Frowning, he tightened his hold around Marinette and tried to let himself fall back to sleep.

A sudden pressure on his right wrist brought him back on alert. It was like someone had tied his arm down. He tried to pull against it with no success. His eyes flew open when he felt his ring being pulled off his finger. He could feel his transformation washing over him in a burst of green light. Marinette groaned in her sleep at the sudden brightness, tucking her head.

"NO!" he yelled, trying to curl his fingers. It was already too late, the ring slipping off the end of his claws and turning him back into Adrien. Marinette sat up suddenly, blinking in the darkness when the electricity rippled past her face.

"What?" she asked, voice gravelly with sleep.

"My ring!" he shouted, jumping to his feet and frantically looking around the field. It was so dark. He couldn't see anything. "My RING!" He knew he sounded panicky, but without Plagg - he shivered. He didn't want to think of life without Plagg. He couldn't breathe.

Marinette staggered to her feet and stood in front of him, grabbing both sides of his face with her hands and pulling his chin down to force him to look at her.

"Just breathe," she ordered, modelling slow, deep breaths. He tried to follow her example.

"What do we do now?" he whispered, leaning forward to lean his forehead on hers.

"I don't know, but we'll figure it out. For every problem, there is a solution." How very Ladybug, he thought. She was right. They could figure this out. But now neither of them had their suits or their powers and they haven't been able to beat her even with those things. He took another deep breath and let it out.

Suddenly, Marinette spun his arms and pressed back against him in a protective stance.

"Keep your face hidden," she hissed. Right. If Hawkmoth was able to see through his Akuma's eyes, he'd already seen Marinette. Maybe they could avoid him seeing Adrien's face as well. He turned his face away slightly and hid it behind Marinette's hair.

"My, My. No more kitty," BookWorm's voice crowed from the darkness. Marinette stiffened. He was sure if could see her face right now, her eyes would be steeled with angry determination.

"What are you going to do now, Ladybug, without your cat sidekick?"

"He's not my sidekick," Marinette ground out. He always was taken slightly aback by the level of insistence she had that he was her equal partner. He was happy enough as a sidekick.

"Give me the earring and you can go home," Bookworm offered, her voice coming closer.

Suddenly, Marinette bolted. He looked up in surprise to see her head down low and running at full speed into their opponent's stomach before he remembered that he was supposed to be hiding his identity. He put his hands over his face, keeping his head ducked, and peered through small gaps between his fingers as Marinette hit her target, knocking BookWorm backwards.

His ring fell from BookWorm's fingers with the sudden impact and the two of them dropped to the ground in a frantic scramble to claim it. Bookworm used the words on her skirt to pry Marinette off the ground.

"Chat!" he heard Marinette yell. He pulled his hands off his face and watched as she hurled his ring through the air in his direction before being violently pounded into the grass with a painful sounding grunt. Adrien watched the ring coming towards him and jumped as soon as he could connect with it, grabbing it mid-air and slamming it on his finger.

It was barely in place when he yelled for Plagg to transform him, praying his kwami could do it without having recharged in a while. The familiar buzz of power flooded him and he screamed "Cataclysm" before it had even finished, the black bubbles surrounding his gloved hand pulsing with power.

He didn't think. He just did, running with frustration at BookWorm who stood over where Marinette was pinned to the ground. His hand collided with her skirt, black ash ripping it to pieces in front of his eyes. The lines of text that she had been using as extra arms withered away to charcoal, falling uselessly to the ground in long thing trails.

BookWorm turned to him, eyes blazing before the dust had even hit her feet, a shriek of anger tearing from her throat.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?"

Purple colour flooded her face and she howled again, looking like she might launch herself on him and pummel him with her book. As the last of the skirt crumbled, Chat caught sight of a small object reflecting the light of the moon briefly. The earring from her pocket! He lunged at the same time that BookWorm flipped open her book and frantically started to read out loud, slamming her foot onto the earring.

He kicked her in the legs, hoping to knock her down, but she stood firm. He needed that earring. He used his claws to dig around her foot but she didn't back down.

He wasn't quite prepared when BookWorm threw her weight at him and knocked him backwards. The portal was open behind him, he could feel the energy pulsing. She had thrown him off balance and he almost slid through the portal, only managing to stop himself when he was more than ⅔'s of the way through the gap by digging his claws deep into the dirt and dragging himself out. BookWorm had taken that moment to scoop up the earring and pounce on Marinette who still lay on the ground where she had been smashed, groaning a little.

Chat ran at the woman, tackling her to the ground in a move that would make the best American Football players jealous. She responded by cracking him hard in the head with her heavy tome, leaving him dazed for a moment while she shoved him sideways and scrambled to her feet. She grabbed Marinette's leg as she sprinted by, dragging the girl with her as she slipped through the open portal.

Chat shook his head quickly and instantly flipped himself off the ground and into the portal behind her. There was no way he was going to be separated from Marinette again! The portal crackled as he pushed his way through while it attempted to close, feeling the energy narrowly miss his boot.

"Mari!" he shouted, not sure if BookWorm had let her go or not when they'd vanished.

"Chat!" he heard back. He flailed his arms out, trying to find her without success in the void. At least they would be together on the other side.


	28. A Chamber of Secrets

He landed on his feet, the swirling chaos of the void clouding his senses for a moment as he tried to figure out where he was. The air was musty and damp. The sound of water dripping and moving filled the dark space. Looking around, he made out the silhouette of a body flopped on the stone ground. Marinette! He scrambled over to her side, gently rolling her over to make sure she was ok. She groaned a little as she flopped into his hands.

His ring beeped loudly, making him jump slightly. He quietly transformed, letting Plagg collapse onto Marinette's belly.

"Hungry," was all the creature moaned, clutching dramatically at his stomach. Adrienne Shot his kwami an annoyed look.

"Quiet. Plagg. We don't know where we are right now. We don't want to draw attention to ourselves. So shh," he chided softly.

"Too late," announced Plagg, peering over Adrien's shoulder with eyes like saucers. Adrien turned to look at what Plagg saw, only to have his kwami yell, "No! Don't look! Stay very still!" Carefully Adrien shifted so his body was protecting Marinette's and froze.

Warm air heated his back as something large approached behind him. There was a slight hissing sound coming from whatever was coming closer. The smell was terrible as it breathed on his back. He jumped a little as something wet dripped onto his shoulder. It felt like an eternity as he knelt there, hunched over Marinette with an oversized monster loomed inches from his body. As suddenly as it had approached, it pulled away with a final loud hiss in his ear. As he heard it moving away, he hazarded a glance over his shoulder to see a large snake-like creature slithering into a hole in a large wall decorated with a facial relief of a wizard.

Shivering, he looked around the room for a way out. It must be on the far side of the cavern, across the bridge lined with snake head statues. He nudged Marinette again, hoping she would stir.

"We have to get out of here, Plagg. Any ideas?" he asked. Plagg shrugged, keeping his eyes on the hole where the oversized snake had slithered. Suddenly, he bolted, slipping into Adrien's shirt to hide. Startled, Adrien looked around to see a young red-haired girl walking slowly across the bridge to the middle of the room. She just stared unseeing at the wizard's face on the wall. She held a well-worn book in her hands.

Adrien slid his arms under Marinette and dragged her back to the wall, hiding them in the shadows in order to avoid being seen. He held her in his lap, watching the scene unfold before them.

"This is Harry Potter, isn't it?" he whispered to Plagg, who peered out the edge of his shirt. Again the kwami shrugged impassively.

Before long, the boy in question appeared and a tall teenaged figure appeared in the room with him, monologuing about how he had escaped with the help of Ginny who lay on the floor. The whole cavern filled with a strange musical sound - causing Adrien to shiver while goosebumps covered his body. A large bird, red and golden in colour, with a tail that was on fire, swooped into the room, a ragged looking hat in his talons. A phoenix!

When the giant snake reappeared, Adrien turned himself around again to protect himself and Marinette. The sounds behind him were loud: hissing, and screeching, and yelling. In his arms, he felt Marinette shift slightly, her eyes cracking open with a puzzled look at him. He pressed his finger to her lips to tell her to be quiet. Nodding, she sat up and tucked herself into him so her face was hidden against his chest. There was no way he was going to let her look at that beast.

Together they huddled in silence as the battle raged behind them, even when the snake was defeated and the sounds of flapping wings carried the voices away. It was when the room was deadly silent that Adrien dared to look.

On the ground lay the giant monster, blood pooling around his face where Harry had stabbed it with his sword. It was a gruesome sight. Marinette looked a little green when she stared at it.

"How do we get out of here?" she whispered, grabbing his hand.

In silence, they walked across the pathway and clamoured over a heaping pile of stones that nearly blocked the doorway. On the other side, they were stuck, uncertain of how to escape the chamber.

There was the sound of wings again from above, and Adrien looked up to see the flaming redbird again. It landed on the stone pile, cocking his head slightly to gaze at them curiously. Marinette's hand clenched his tightly as they stood under its scrutinizing stare. Suddenly, the bird spread its brilliant wings and shoved off the stones, swooping over them and grabbing them with his talons. They both let out startled yelps as the bird beat its wings and they rose high into the air.

Nose twitching with the familiar sensation of allergies, Adrien tried to fight off the need to sneeze as they disappeared into a small space before being dropped onto the cold tiled floor of a bathroom. With a final inquisitive blink, the Phoenix left them alone. Adrien couldn't keep it in anymore and let out a series of violent sneezes. Marinette shot him a sympathetic smile.

"Poor kitty," she murmured.

"Who's a kitty?" droned a soft voice behind them. Startled, the pair of them reached for each other before quickly turning around to face a ghost. She was young and wearing glasses, a sad look etched on her ethereal face.

"I am," croaked Adrien. She peered at him more closely.

"You don't look like a cat. You look like a boy."

"Right now, you are right. Do you know where I can find some food?" he asked, getting to his feet and pulling Marinette up beside him. "I'm too hungry to be a cat right now."

The ghost contemplated for a moment before agreeing to lead them to the meal hall where they could find food.

The hallways of the school were huge and countless. Adrien was very thankful for their ghost guide, even though she had a habit of vanishing through walls instead of taking a route they could easily follow. She gestured to a great hall behind a huge wooden door before fading back into the wall.

There were teenagers everywhere, scurrying and bustling, voices raised with stressful excitement over the events of the day. Adrien pulled Marinette through the door with him, scanning the room full of tables and benches. Finding some laden with fruit and cheeses, they tried to make their way inconspicuously through the chaos to the table. Grabbing handfuls of whatever they could grab, Adrien shoved chunks of cheese into his pocket for an eagerly waiting Plagg. Quietly, they slipped back out the room, down the main hall and out into the courtyard. When they found a semi-private space to hide, they ate the food they had taken as quickly as they could.

* * *

Marinette cautiously watched the students running around them. Hogwarts was bigger and more imposing than she had envisioned it. Chewing the apple she had taken slowly, she glanced over at Adrien who was doing the same. They definitely didn't belong here, their lack of uniforms sticking out in the crowd. Better, she supposed, than being in their superhero costumes.

"Any more cheese?" she heard Plagg call from Adrien's pocket. She pressed her lips together in an attempt to swallow the giggle that threatened to bubble out when she caught Adrien's death stare at his shirt.

"Seriously, Plagg? You ate enough cheese to feed like a whole classroom." His voice was full of sheer annoyance.

"And?" was the sassy response from the pocket. Adrien just groaned and threw his hands into the air.

"Hey! Who are you?!" shouted a voice from farther down the courtyard. Marinette stiffened, sharing a quick nervous look with her partner before turning to see what the noise was about. Fully anticipating being called out for not belonging, Marinette was a little surprised to see students staring at another person.

BookWorm.

Their adversary was walking slowly towards them with determination, wild eyes focused intently on where they sat, book open in her hands. She looked very dishevelled, her once carefully coiffed hair now sticking out in all directions all over her head as if she had been hit with electricity. Her skirt was gone, revealing dark leggings underneath. Dirt stains covered her once white collared blouse.

Marinette rose slowly to her feet, feeling Adrien do the same, as the woman moved closer and closer. Students behind BookWorm were yelling, wands raised.

"Give me the Miraculous," the woman seethed. Marinette just rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, I'm not really sure how you think you are going to get them now that your precious skirt is gone," she quipped in response. Without her text limbs, BookWorm really didn't have too much in the way of offensive power.

The woman glared and started to mutter.

Behind her, Adrien called for Plagg, flashing brightly as he transformed again into Chat Noir. She felt him step closer to her, a hand on her arm in anticipation. Turning her face slightly towards him, she uttered a single, "Go." She felt his muscles coil, ready to attack the woman, only to unexpectedly lose balance and start to fall when the ground underneath them dissipated into a gaping maw, swallowing them up as they yelped in surprise.

"You think I'm helpless!?" screamed BookWorm as they sunk into the void.

Chat cussed under his breath, grabbing Marinette's arms and dragging her close to him as the swirling whoosh of BookWorm's portal enveloped them.

"Not again!" Chat said in frustration. "This has to end!" She nodded against him, arms holding on tight as she squeezed her eyes shut against the nauseating tumbling sensation. "Next time, I'm going full-attack as soon as I see her." She nodded again.

It didn't take long for them to land again, crashing into a nighttime meadow with a tangle of arms and legs. They rolled to a stop, Chat's body pressing her heavily into the ground. He flushed and jumped back, hopping to his feet with an awkward chuckle.

"Sorry," he muttered as she dragged herself to stand beside him. She just smiled. There could be worse things in the world than being squashed by a handsome boy. Twirling around slowly, Marinette tried to figure out where they were now. It looked like an empty field of weeds and wildflowers, the dark shape of a barn off in the distance slightly. Above them, a full moon shone brightly down on where they stood. She could slightly make out what looked like a dirt road in the moonlight, running alongside the field.

"Where do you think we are now?" she asked Chat, who just frowned slightly with a shrug. She watched as his cat ears pivoted to listen behind them. "What is it?" she whispered.

"I think," he paused, listening again. "Motorcycles?"

It wasn't long until two motorbikes sputtered into view, huge clouds of dust kicking up behind them. They skidded to a halt when they caught sight of the teens in the field, and Marinette felt Chat step slightly in front of her in his usual protective stance. Always her champion.

"Hey! You there!" called a male voice from the road as both of the riders dismounted and started running towards them. Marinette was surprised to see they were young - teenagers not much older than themselves - both dressed in button-down shirts and wearing nice pants. The first one was tall with dark hair, carefully cut short in a similar style to that of his blond-haired companion.

"What are you doing here?" called the other teen as they got close enough to see clearly in the moonlight.

They promptly froze when they spotted Chat's mask and cat ears.

"Who are you?" the first one gasped, a look of curiosity mixed with fear flashing through his face.


	29. The Case of the Missing BookWorm

"Are you ok, Miss?" the dark-haired one asked, stepping forward cautiously with one hand stretched out slightly towards Marinette. Glancing quickly at Chat, she saw his eyes narrow slightly. With a gentle pat on his arm, she reminded him to reign in his protectiveness. He was still stiffer than he could be but at least she didn't hear any growling.

"I am fine, thank you," she answered politely to the teen. "Give us a minute, please?" The tall boy nodded, uncertainty lining his features as took a few steps back to stand warily with his partner.

"Listen, I think we are going to have to trust these two. I need you to not get all jealous again, please?" She begged. He frowned at her, resting his head against hers and taking a slow breath.

"I will try," he murmured. That was good enough.

"It might be better if you are Adrien," she added. He growled slightly.

"No. What if Bookworm attacks? I don't want to run that risk!" She gave him an exasperated look.

"I don't mean throw Plagg away! Keep him right with you so you can change quickly as needed. Please?" It took a good minute of him quietly searching her upturned face before he finally nodded. Smiling, she stretched up on her toes and planted a quick kiss on his lips.

Dropping his transformation, he cupped a cranky Plagg in his palms at the same time that the two teens shouted in surprise.

"What just happened?" the blond one exclaimed loudly, staring at Adrien with blatant curiosity. "Are you.. a werecat?!"

To that, Adrien burst out into a loud laugh.

"No. No. I am just a teenager, like you. But I also have a magic cat friend who gives me superpowers." The two boys seemed duly impressed and rife with a thousand questions.

They turned out to be Frank and Joe Hardy, local boys who loved a good mystery, likely due to the influence of their father, a private investigator. He was gone on a case, they explained. After they had been appropriately introduced and were satisfied enough with the answers they had received, the Hardy boys offered to take them home for the night. They didn't think their mother would mind at all.

After a silent discussion with Adrien, Marinette climbed onto the back of Frank's bike, wrapping her arms around his waist as they took off down the dirt road. It was bumpy and a little nerve-wracking, but she loved the wind rushing past her cheeks. It felt freeing.

It wasn't long before they pulled up in front of a sweet little house and headed inside. She grabbed Adrien's hand and squeezed, attempting to put him at ease. He squeezed back gently as Frank told them to sit on the couch while they found their mother.

When she arrived, she was holding a plate full of homemade chocolate chip cookies. Mrs Hardy was a petite woman, especially in comparison to her two sons, her blond hair short and curly, with welcoming blue eyes.

"Welcome, children," she said, holding out the plate for them to each have a cookie. Joe grabbed several at once, despite the disapproving frown from his mother. "It's kind of late at night for you to be out and about lost in the darkness. Where are your parents?"

Adrien drooped beside her a little at the question, causing Marinette to squeeze his hand again.

"Well, it's a little bit crazy, Mrs Hardy. We aren't actually from around here. We live in Paris," Marinette began. The woman looked extremely surprised.

"What are you doing here then?"

Joe and Frank leaned in excitedly, their teenaged eyed gleaming with anticipation. Marinette paused, words catching in her throat as she tried to figure out how to tell their story to this woman.

"It's kind of a long story, but the basis of it is that we are just here for a short visit," Adrien spoke before she could. It made sense, actually. And it wasn't quite a lie.

Nodding, the woman stood to her feet, likely used to the world of the strange and unusual as the wife of a detective.

"Well, let's find you some food and get you some beds then! And it looks like you could use a good hot bath," she chirped, clapping her hands together in determinations before heading into the kitchen.

After being plied with an amazing reheated home-cooked meal, Marinette followed Mrs Hardy up the stairs with the instructions to put herself in a bubble bath and her clothes in the laundry. Mrs Hardy passed her a fuzzy towel and a light pink collared button down nightgown that reached all the way to her toes. Sinking into the tub was heaven.

* * *

Adrien trailed quietly behind the two brothers as they headed upstairs to their shared room stuffing the cheese chunks that he'd found into his pocket for Plagg. Frank and Joe jokingly shoved and teased each other the entire way, talking excitedly about all kinds of things. He smiled at the familiarity they had with each other. He'd never had siblings so it was fun to watch them interact.

A thick sleeping bag was pulled from their closet, and thrown on the floor along with a pillow. Joe grabbed some classic style pyjamas from his drawers and tossed them at Adrien.

Waiting for Marinette to finish in the bathroom, the boys all talked.

"Joe here has a girl. Iola Morton - she's Chet's sister," announced Frank, a teasing lilt in his voice.

"Ya, well if you'd ask Callie - I bet she'd say yes," Joe snipped back with a grin, throwing a pillow at his brother.

"Is Marinette your girl, Adrien?" Frank asked after a moment of tussling with his brother. Adrien flushed.

"I guess you could say that," he admitted. "It's a little more complicated than that. But yea, I love her." Frank and Joe made a collective "ooh" sound in response, making Adrien laugh.

There was a small click of a door opening in the hallway and Adrien jumped to his feet to peek out the bedroom door. Marinette stepped out of the bathroom wearing a huge pink nightdress, her hair loose and still damp dripping over her shoulders. He couldn't help from smiling, something she returned sheepishly.

"I think I'm wearing a tent," she laughed.

"It's wonderful," he said, pulling her to him in a crushing hug. Pressing his face to her wet hair, he whispered softly in her ear, "I wish we didn't have to be apart tonight. I'm going to miss you every minute."

Leaning back, she looked up at him with soft eyes, touching the side of his face gently with her fingers. "Me too, Kitty," she admitted. They stood in the hallway, staring at each other for a moment until an awkward sounding cough sounded from the doorway of the brother's bedroom. Marinette giggled, flushing prettily. He'd never get tired of that.

Pressing a kiss to her forehead, he let his hands drop to his sides and wished her good night with a small bow.

"Night, Kitty," she called, slipping into the guest bedroom that Mrs Hardy had put together for her.

Looking over his shoulder, he saw both Frank and Joe leaning out the door of their room with grins. He gave them a haughty look, making them both laugh as they fell back into their rooms before making his way into the bathroom.

* * *

"So, tell us all the details." Joe prodded, his detective skills obviously tingling.

Adrien lay on the floor, tucked into the sleeping bag while Frank and Joe peered down at him from the edges of their bed. Plagg was tucked up into a ball on the pillow, pressed tightly against his neck. So he shared, with a few modifications, about the woman with the ability to portal people to different places, who had stolen Marinette's earring (thereby taking her powers) and who wanted his ring. He told them about her skirt and how he'd managed to destroy it, nearly getting back Marinette's last earring, hopefully making their chances of success higher, as soon as they found her. He explained that she must be somewhere in or around Bayport - waiting to attack.

"Why does she keep dropping you in different places?" Joe asked.

"She's trying to throw us off, I think. Catch us off-guard and make it easier to take our powers." Frank nodded in agreement.

"Ok, so tomorrow, we'll ask around to see if we can find her. Maybe we can help you get the earring back."

Adrien smiled. It would be nice to have help.

Everyone settled into their beds and soon, Adrien could hear both of the brothers snoring lightly. Debating with himself for a while, he finally decided he needed to see Marinette before he could sleep. Slipping out of the room silently, leaving Plagg on the pillow, he crossed the hall and carefully opened the door to her room.

She was sound asleep, the bright moonlight pouring in from the uncurtained windows. The blankets were tossed haphazardly over one leg, her nightgown twisted around the other. Her arms were flung out at her sides and her hair was wildly fanned out across her pillow and face. Tiptoeing softly to the bed, he leaned over and gently pulled the hair off her eyes before planting a kiss on her forehead.

Sneaking silently back to his makeshift bed, he gave Plagg a head rub before settling down for the night. Knowing she was ok made his heart feel better. It wasn't long before he joined everyone else in sleep.

* * *

"So where should we go first?" asked Joe excitedly, shovelling a forkful of scrambled eggs into his mouth. "We could ask Chet and Tony - maybe they've seen something." Frank nodded in agreement, gulping his own breakfast down.

Adrien poked at his eggs, not used to something so heavy first thing in the morning. Marinette looked barely conscious, just staring at the plate in front of her blankly. She had managed to pull her hair back into its typical pigtails and was dressed back in her clean clothes, just like he was.

He listened absentmindedly as the Hardy Boys put together a plan of action for the day, the goal of finding and catching BookWorm high on the priority list. They were going to talk around town for any sightings of the woman and then try to trap her somewhere they could defeat her.

Grabbing his cup of coffee, he sipped at it while he studied Marinette. She looked up at him and smiled sleepily. Motioning to her mug, he raised his eyebrows, hoping she would get the suggestion to at least have some coffee to wake up. He loved her morning dopiness, but she needed to wake up before they began their adventure. He smiled into his cup when she reached out and started to drink it.

After the breakfast dishes had been washed and put away, the 4 teenagers set out into town to talk with their friends. Chet, Biff, and Tony all waited on the steps to the high school building, eager to find out what was going on after the phone calls that Joe and Frank had made to them before they'd left.

After briefly explaining that they were after a magical woman who had stolen an earring with the ability to create portals to other places, the three other boys looked stunned, a combination of extreme curiosity and disbelief on their faces.

"You guys have the strangest adventures," observed Chet, a heavy-set, down-to-earth boy. Everyone just laughed, because it really was true. After some strategic planning, the friends fanned out - rushing around the town in different directions and interviewing the locals for any clues about a mysterious woman.

The results were disappointing, at least until they found one older woman who told them she had seen someone strange wandering down the street early in the morning. She'd made a mental note of it because there had been an unusual purple glow on the woman's face that had made her feel concerned.

Adrien exchanged a knowing look with Marinette and, hoisting themselves behind Joe and Frank on their motorcycles, followed the lady to where she'd last seen the woman. There was no evidence of her there, but after their informant had left, they decided to continue down the road in the direction she had been travelling.

Pulling Plagg out of his pocket, much to his kwami's disapproval, Adrien opted to transform back into Chat Noir - the idea of superpowers much more appealing than the chance to meeting BookWorm head on out of the suit.

Holding Marinette's hand, he led the way with Frank and Joe trailing behind, everyone on alert as their eyes searched in every direction for any indication of their adversary.

It was a sudden yelp from Joe that made the other three whirl around in surprise. Joe had fallen into one of BookWorm's portals, one that had obviously opened beneath him while they'd been walking, his fingers clutching tightly to the edge of it. "Help!" he screeched.

Chat reacted faster than anyone else, lunging quickly towards the dangling teen and grabbing his arm to pull him over the lip and onto solid ground. When BookWorm appeared just out of reach on the other side of the portal, Chat growled and prepared to throw himself at her over the void. She just laughed and stepped inside, disappearing.

Grabbing Marinette around the waist, he said to Frank and Joe, "Sorry guys. Gotta follow her. Thanks for your help!" before dropping them in after her.

"We're getting the earring back now," he growled in Marinette's ear as they tumbled. "Whatever happens from here, I need you to hold onto me all the time. I'm just going to go full attack mode."

She nodded against him, clamouring over his shoulder to find a place on his back. He carefully looped his tail around her like a seatbelt to hold her in place, tucking it in again as she put her arms around his neck.

This time, they were ready to fight. He'd had enough of this - it was time to get this Akuma under control.


	30. Tolkien a Journey

The world was grey. At first, he thought it was just because of the mist that usually covered them when they landed, but it had faded. Now that he could see, he felt a bit disoriented looking around at a whole world that was in various shades of black and white.

Marinette peered out above his shoulder from her perch on his back. "Weird," she said, blinking like she was trying to reset the colour without success. He nodded, scanning the area for clues of where BookWorm had landed. It felt so strange to look at dark grey trees and light grey fields.

Shaking his head, he started moving across the field, hoping to find some idea of where BookWorm had gone. There were people around, many of whom stared at them openly. Although he supposed, a boy dressed as a cat with a girl on his back wasn't like to be an everyday sight.

"Has anyone seen a strange looking woman carrying a book?" he asked finally as they approached what looked like a town and more people appeared. Most of them just stood there in surprise, but one boy not much younger than them nodded.

"She went to the Annex!" he shouted, pointing in the direction of a larger building out of the way from the rest before running in that direction. Chat followed behind, carefully checking among the houses and buildings as he ran in case she'd managed to find a way to slip between them. The boy stopped running when they reached the building, looking a little confused as he searched around.

"I'm sure I saw her go this way. Woman with glasses and a book in her hand, right?" Chat nodded, ears straining to hear anything useful as he slowly craned his head to find her. She stepped out from the other side of the building, facing him dead on, the book opened in front of her, murmuring softly. With a sharp growl, Chat pounced, Marinette clinging tightly against his back, determined to stop her before another portal opened.

BookWorm took one step back as he landed beside her, grabbing tightly onto the Akuma's collar and snarling in her face. She grimaced, slamming the book shut harshly as a portal appeared behind her. She tried to twist sharply out of his grasp, but he clung to her collar, refusing to let go. Unable to get free, she lunged backwards through the gateway, yanking him with her.

He tightened his hold as they tumbled. Not this time, he thought with a snarl. This time they would land with her.

They hit the ground hard, the sound of groaning wood on impact. Shouting and screaming echoed all around, the sounds of waves crashing against the side of something hard, water spraying across them as the mist cleared. White fluttered above them, as the force of the landing caused Chat to tumble backwards, letting go of the collar he had determined never to release. Twisting slightly so as not to land on Marinette, he pushed off the wooden deck of the ship and flew back to BookWorm, slamming her against the deck with a loud angry sound and a sharp gleam in his eyes. Reaching for the book in her hand, he tried to pry it free.

The whole boat rocked harshly beneath them, the terrible sound of timber cracking mixed with the terrified screams of people around them. Jerking his head up while trying to maintain a foothold of the steeply shifting ship, Chat caught the terrifying flash of a white whale tail. Chaos from the smaller boats surrounding them - yells and screams and harpoons and nets - as the ship began to sink. Wide-eyed with panic, Chat watched the boat filling with water incredibly fast, creating a whirlpool beneath them and sucking everything down with them.

"Mari," he choked, grasping onto her legs and trying to find a plan of escape as quickly as possible. His eyes caught sight of BookWorm frantically murmuring into her book, calling a portal to her as the water lapped at her feet and legs. The moment the ripple of a portal appeared, Chat threw himself forward towards it, grasping the woman by her arm and pulling her through with them.

His heart racing, he felt Marinette tighten her hold on his neck and her legs around his waist. Keeping hold of their opponent as the chaos of the sinking ship melted into the whirling of the nothing that existed in the void, Chat prepared for the next landing.

The tantalizing smell of grilled meat hit him first, even before his knees collided painfully with a hard ground. BookWorm tried to yank her arm from his grasp, purple light covering her face as she let out an angry snarl.

Claws wrapped tightly around the woman's arm, he pulled her closer, using his other hand to grab at the book she held. Her eyes shot him daggers, thrusting her head sharply into his face. A yelp escaped his lips as blood gushed from his clearly broken nose, the need to grab her book forgotten as he used his extra hand to wipe at the mess. Marinette cringed behind him, a soft concerned call of his name combined with a whimper.

Renewed with anger, Chat tried to keep his initial response of violence and name-calling under check, gnashing his teeth together grimly.

A loud strain of hissing tore through his ears, along with the sound of crashing. A quick look behind them revealed three teens barrelling through a collection of statues, followed by a woman with wild snake-like hair, sharp talons, and enraged eyes. Chat's heart stopped for a moment. Medusa.

"Keep your eyes closed!" he bellowed, praying that Marinette would listen. He felt her press her face hard into his spine, as he twisted BookWorm backwards from the rapidly approaching gorgon and jammed his own eyes shut - waiting for some kind of attack.

"Percy! Don't listen to her!" someone shouted painfully from one side.

"Too late," came a confident hiss, far too closely. He could hear BookWorm muttering beside him, arm still tight in his grasp. She must be getting ready to portal again. There was a loud grunt followed by the sound of wind being sucked out of a cave, along with an uncomfortable gurgling.

"Yuck," the first voice gagged.

BookWorm jerked, nearly breaking free of his grasp and causing him to look at her as she pushed them into another portal. Frustrated, Chat reached out with his other hand while the unsettling swirl of the portal enveloped him and grabbed her other arm.

Where had she put the ring now? It was too hard to see clearly while they tumbled, but he knew he couldn't lose hold of her. She'd just escape and they'd be starting all over again.

He felt confused as he heard her still muttering while the world around them appeared - an old-school classroom with a red-haired girl standing angrily over a shocked looking boy - and then disappeared as they fell back into another tumble. World after world appeared and dissipated, leaving Chat disoriented and confused. A farm with people talking about an amazing spider web, a disembodied brain that pulsed so intently that you could feel it through your chest, a sod house on the side of a hill. It went faster and faster, turning into a blur of colour and madness.

He could no longer make out shapes or settings. Marinette made a sick sounding moan against his back - something he felt himself as the movement didn't stop.

In a frantic attempt to stop the freefall, he clamped one hand over BookWorm's mouth, cutting off the endless murmuring that was causing portals to open over and over. She let out a muffled roar against his hand, the final portal dropping them into a brilliantly green and lush world with a painful thunk.

The force of the landing knocked Marinette right off his back, sending her rolling through the grass, and loosening his grip on their adversary. Seeing her opportunity, BookWorm bolted. He lunged, legs burning from the landing and head dizzy.

She was fast, running at full speed towards a forest of trees. Chat snarled, throwing himself into the run of a feline predator on all fours as he chased her. Reaching her with ease, he knocked her down to the ground from behind, pinning her down with his knees.

"Enough!" he yelled, as she thrashed angrily under the pressure. "Where is the earring?" She let out a sharp laugh. "TELL ME!" He could feel himself losing his battle against the rage that seethed under the weight of his suit.

"Get off the woman," ordered a voice, followed by a whooshing sound accompanied by a sharp wind whizzed past his face, drawing his attention from the Akuma with a hiss.

Off to the side stood what appeared to be a tall man with long hair, clothed in green with a large bow drawn back with another arrow at the ready. Behind him stood a short stout man with a long bushy beard, looking incredibly menacing.

"I'm not going to hurt her," Chat growled, "She's being mind-controlled and I'm trying to help save her!" The tall one narrowed his bright eyes, evaluating the situation.

"Get off her. Bring her to me," commanded the tall one, an arrow still nocked and prepped to fly. Chat stood up, removing his knee from BookWorm's back and yanking her to her feet by one arm. He ripped the book from her hand with a vicious smile and all but dragged her towards the archer, passing her over easily to a new set of hands.

* * *

Marinette lay flat on the grass like a starfish, blinking at the bright blue cloudless sky as she evaluated the level of ache in her body from the tumble off Chat's back. The whole multiple-stories-in-a-single-fall had been completely overwhelming, leaving her senses confused and dizzy. Gingerly she flexed her joints to see if they all worked. Stiff, sure, but they worked, so she pushed herself up to a sitting position and looked around.

It was a beautiful world - wherever they had finally landed. The colours were intensely vibrant and breathtaking. Her eyes finally landed at the edge of a forest where Chat had BookWorm pinned down.

This was his chance to get her earring back. To grab the book and get them out of here! Eagerly, she jumped to her feet and started jogging in that direction, only skidding to a halt when two figures appeared from the forest offensively. She could make out the shape of a bow and arrow in the hands of the tall one and she panicked slightly realizing that they were pointed at her partner. In earnest, she moved forward, running to Chat as fast as she could.

She watched as Chat stood up, taking the book from BookWorm and dragged her to the archer. Almost there. They couldn't lose her now.

Chat hunched slightly in a defensive stance; she could almost hear his hiss from here. Out of breath, she stumbled in between Chat and the others, gasping wildly while she stood her ground.

A flash of purple crossed BookWorm's face and she twisted her lips in a sly smile at Marinette before she turned her body into that of the archer and started sobbing loudly. The elf looked somewhat surprised at her reaction, his grasp loosening from her arm and rounding her shoulders in comfort.

"They have been chasing me," the woman explained between sobs, a set of convincing tears streaking her cheeks as she held onto his shirt like she was in distress. "These monsters won't leave me alone. They just want to steal my book - a BOOK!" A wail tore from BookWorm's throat.

"Give me the book," demanded the shorter of the two men, moving forward intimidatingly. He might have been short, but he gave off a very strong aura - making Marinette unconsciously step back towards Chat.

"No," she said simply. They had no idea what they were trying to do. Turning her head slightly to speak over her shoulder, she gave Chat one order: "Break it." She heard BookWorm gasp and Chat's slight intake of breath as he trustingly gripped the book with both hands and tore it down the middle. A blackened butterfly flapped its wings as it escaped the book.

BookWorm screamed, throwing herself out of the comforting arm of the tall elf and towards Marinette with a death glare in her eyes. Reaching forward, Marinette grabbed hold of the woman's shirt, her eyes widening slightly as a something sharp poked her hand. Wrenching hard, the shirt tore just as the woman collapsed to the ground in a pile of purple bubbles with one final wail.

* * *

_Author: Phew. This was a harder chapter to write than I anticipated. It didn't even end as I'd planned, but that's ok. Woohoo! They did it! Now to get home...  
How many stories did you recognize today? ^_^_


	31. The Final Chapter

Marinette stood, staring at the chunk of fabric clasped in her fist, body shaking. Slowly she opened her hand and peeled back the cloth to reveal a small round button. Pinned carefully in the same buttonhole was a small black circular earring - one that made her choke on a silent sob. Chat was there in an instant, arms around her tightly as she shook. He gently pried the fabric out of her hands, taking out the earring before carefully slipping it into the hole of her empty earlobe and fastening it.

Her eyes were damp as he pulled back slightly - a brilliant flash of red appearing in between them.

"Tikki!" Marinette squealed, a tear spilling over as her sweet little kwami rushed at her and slammed herself against her Chosen's cheek. "Marinette!" Tikki squealed in return, twinkling giggles escaping her as she snuggled in close.

"Sorry to break up the reunion," Chat said hesitantly. "But…. Akuma?" He gestured to the sky, where the dark butterfly was heading higher.

An unspoken word passed between Tikki and Marinette with a single nod, and Marinette yelled, "Tikki! Transform me!" The supernatural rush of power that fluttered over her body was like being home and Marinette couldn't help but smile widely as she looked down at her spotted suit.

Chat made a throaty noise as he stared at her, a dreamy smile on his face. "That's going to take some getting used to, milady," he murmured. She poked him in the nose before leaning forward to kiss him on the lips, which made him flush a bright shade of pink.

The elf and the dwarf made funny sounds, staring at her in wonder. She just smiled at them nicely before turning her attention to the sky.

Looking upwards, she could still see the fluttering wings of the black butterfly. It was too high for her to jump to, even with her yo-yo. A shout of Lucky Charm dropped a red and black coloured arrow into her waiting hands. With a slight frown, she searched around for clues on how exactly this was supposed to help. The bow. Chat. Her yo-yo. Pieces fell into place. Stepping forward, she put her hand out to ask for the Elvaan bow.

"May I?" she said gently. He hesitated slightly before passing her his longbow. It was heavier than she expected, but she held onto it tightly. Using the string from her yo-yo, she tied her weapon to the end of the arrow, opening it to reveal the bright purifying light inside. Backing up to give herself some running room, she simply nodded at Chat before racing towards him. He understood what she needed without an explanation, bracing himself slightly with his hands together, fingers interweaved. When she jumped at him, he threw her with all his might, causing her to be tossed high into the air. Twisting slightly mid-air, she pulled back on the bowstring as hard as she could, aimed at the Akuma and loosed the arrow, watching as it found its mark and the yo-yo snapped shut.

She plummeted back to the ground, rolling on impact to transfer the movement to propel her feet in the direction of the falling arrow, catching it easily in her hand. Carefully, she untangled her tool from the end of the projectile and opened it to reveal the purified butterfly, now a brilliant white colour.

Looping the yo-yo back into its usual place on her hip, she made her way back to the rest of the people, who mostly looked a little stunned. Chat casually leaned on his staff, proud smirk firmly in place. With thanks, she returned the bow to the elf, noting the curious but approving stare that he gave her.

"It seems that you children are all capable of taking care of yourselves," he said calmly, nodding to his companion who simply grunted. "We shall take our leave of you." And they were gone.

Turning her eyes to her partner, she grinned. "Welcome back, milady," Chat said with a deep bow and a twinkle in his eye.

Ladybug knelt down beside the woman who sat flopped on the ground looking dazed and concerned, ignoring the first of the beeps of her earrings.

"Are you ok?" she murmured, gently putting one gloved hand on the woman's shoulder for comfort. The woman nodded.

"What happened? Where are we?" she asked, looking around at a very different world than Paris, France.

"You were akumatized," offered Chat from where he stood. "Hawkmoth used your love of reading to give us quite the little adventure. I mean, I'm usually one very busy guy, but this whole thing has definitely left me overbooked. You know what I'm Tolkien about?"

Ladybug shot him an unamused glare and helped the woman to her feet.

"We'll be home soon." With a gentle pat on the woman's shoulder for comfort, Ladybug prepared to throw the arrow into the air.

"Wait," Chat called, grabbing her arm and stopping her from her task. She turned to look at him with surprised eyes. "Wait…. We -" he stumbled over his words.

"What do we do when we get home? How long do you think has passed since we left?" He swallowed loudly, his voice fading to a whisper as he asked, "What about us?"

Valid questions. Each of them. Ladybug didn't have answers to any of them. Instead, she just smiled softly, cupped his cheek, and stretched up to kiss his lips. His arms slipped around her waist and pulled her in close.

"There will always be us," she whispered, making him smile as they stared into each other's eyes so long that another beep from her earrings sounded, breaking through the moment.

"Ok," he breathed, letting her arm go.

"I have no idea what's going to happen here," she admitted to them both. With a wide smile, she threw the arrow up into the air, calling out "Miraculous Ladybug!" The sky filled with an army of ladybugs, swirling together in a colourful rush of red as they swooped around the three of them.

The trees and the grass and the blues sky began to fade to a blank and endless white. Chat pulled Ladybug into a gentle hug as shapes slowly appeared - familiar buildings and landmarks.

"Tikki, detransform," Ladybug whispered softly, feeling the rush of light tingle across her skin as she changed back into Marinette. Tikki popped out and vanished with a soft giggle into the small pink bag Marinette always carried. Chat jumped a little as the detransformation flushed against him and Marinette appeared in his arms. He looked down at her with a confused frown.

"In case anyone saw me as Marinette when we vanished," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his waist and laying her head against his chest. His heartbeat thumped happily in her ear.

* * *

Alya blinked.

She had managed to race into the park, camera on record, just as Chat Noir had jumped into action, attacking the librarian looking Akuma with an angry look on his face. Ladybug wasn't there - at least Alya couldn't see her.

The Akuma had these strands flowing from her skirt that she used to attack the black-clad superhero. Alya cheered slightly as Chat managed to knock the woman over and prepared to take the akumatized item, a book, from her grasp. But praise turned to concern as the text swirled up Chat's torso and pinned him in place.

From there, it all happened so quickly that Alya wasn't quite sure what she had seen. A black-haired girl threw herself around Chat, clinging to him tightly as a large giant hole appeared beside them all. Suddenly they all vanished, gone into the gap as it shut behind them.

Alya blinked again.

Turning the recording off, she played back the scene in slow motion, trying to figure out what she had witnessed. Chat clasping his hand against his chest just before a girl came racing in and slammed into him, holding his hand trapped between them as the words attached themselves to their bodies. Alya froze the screen, zooming in at the shocked expression on Chat's face as he reacted to the assault. Panning sideways, she stared at the girl who clung to him. She frowned.

Marinette?

She could recognize her best friend anywhere. Why had Marinette thrown herself at Chat Noir? That didn't seem to make much sense.

Backing out of the camera, she looked around the pack for clues of where they'd vanished to. When she couldn't find anything tangible, she flipped open the browser on her phone and looked to see if there was any news of the Akuma battle being relocated anywhere else.

Nothing. It was like it hadn't even happened.

She flopped herself on an empty park bench, frowning. Well, she could use social media to see if the rest of Paris might have any clues. Pulling her phone up in front of her face, she clicked the recorder back on and went live.

"Hey! Alya here from the LadyBlog. You might have heard Chat Noir and Ladybug were fighting an Akuma today. I got here just in time so I could record the fight, but they've vanished! I didn't even see Ladybug at all! Did you?

Anyways, it seems like they went through… some kind of … portal thingy? I need your help - if you see them anywhere, send me a message to -"

A noise from behind her made Alya whip around, instinctively flipping her camera view from the selfie cam to stream what she found.

It looked like a section of the park had suddenly been wrapped in a thick fog.

"What the-" Alya whispered, getting up from her park bench and inching closer for a better view.

The fog began to clear and she could sort of make out some shapes of people inside it. Two stood close together with the third slightly off to the side. There was a brilliant flash of pink just before the fog complete faded away and Alya almost dropped her phone in surprise.

There, in the middle of the park stood Chat Noir - his arms wrapped tightly around none other than Marinette who was looking up at him with a gentle smile. The woman with them looked dazed. She must have been the Akuma victim.

"Where's Ladybug?" Alya called out, unable to control her mouth. Chat and Marinette both jumped back in surprise.

"I - uh," stuttered Chat, rubbing his neck in a movement that showcased his awkwardness. "I should go find her." In a typically dramatic Chat gesture, he bowed deeply to Marinette, scooping up her hand and brushing his lips across her knuckles. "Thank you for your assistance, Purrr-incess."

With a heavy wink to Marinette and a two-fingered salute to Alya, he grabbed his baton and launched himself high onto the rooftops and disappeared out of sight.

Alya narrowed her eyes as her best friend followed his path with a blush and smirk and the shake of her head before turning to the woman beside her.

"Let's get you home."

* * *

Chat stretched out casually on a chair on Marinette's balcony, staring at the stars above his head and listening to the conversation that had been almost unending in the room below. Alya was determined to find out something - whether that was details about the Akuma battle or about the fact that Marinette had reappeared snuggled in Chat's arms, he wasn't quite sure. In likelihood, it was both.

He chuckled quietly to himself as he heard Marinette repeat over and over that she had no feelings for Chat Noir - "that annoying pun-loving cat" - and that nothing had happened between them. Alya didn't seem to believe her, even when Marinette had pointedly argued that she'd only ever loved Adrien and she would continue to do so. His heart leapt a bit hearing her say that she loved him - even if he knew she was lying a little.

Finally, he heard Alya sigh loudly.

"Fine, I believe you. So, what are you going to do about Adrien?" she prompted. Chat's ears perked up.

"I'm not sure. When I told Chat about my feelings for Adrien, he had a few suggestions on how I could get his attention." The grin that swiped across his face was one of pure satisfaction. Oh, he had a few ideas alright. Like maybe kissing him senseless. That sounded like a good place to start. He could feel a purr rumbling through his chest at the idea.

There was an awkward pause in the room below.

"Ok, girl, I have no idea exactly what happened with you today, but I swear something has gotten into you," Alya finally admitted. There was a rustling of papers and shuffling of bodies. "I should get home. I need to finish this blog post. Thanks for the scoop."

He heard the trapdoor of her room close, followed by a long, slow breath. Peeking down the sunlight window, he saw Tikki buzz over and snuggle into Marinette's cheek, making her smile brightly.

Knocking softly, he grinned at her through the glass when she turned her head with a smile. Clamouring up the bed and through the window, she joined him on the balcony with a hug.

"Hello, Princess. I missed you," he breathed into her hair, letting his transformation fall.

"Me too, kitty. I have no idea how I'm going to sleep tonight without knowing you are close by," she admitted.

A gagging noise from beside them made them both turn. Green eyes glaring with annoyance, blue ones twinkling with amusement.

"Seriously, after all we've been through, I was so hoping that you two would be over it by now. Ugh," Plagg whined. "Unless…" He looked thoughtful. "Do you have any cheese?"

Tikki phased through the window and glared at him. "Plagg!" she said sharply. He grinned.

"Sugar Cube!" Tikki rolled her eyes and dragged him into the room below with an apologetic look at the teens.

Finally alone, Adrien's eyes twinkled as he gently cupped her face with one hand and pulled her close again with the other.

"May I, Milady?" When she nodded, he leaned in and kissed her with a thumping heart, eyes fluttering closed as he felt her catch her breath against his lips. He would never get tired of this.

There have been five great kisses since 1642 B.C. And the precise rating of kisses is a terribly difficult thing, often leading to great controversy... Well, this one left them all behind. *

* * *

_Author: *Shout out to Mr William Goldman for writing one of the best kissing stories of all time. 3_

_Epilogue uploading now..._


	32. Epilogue

He looked over at his partner with a grin, flexing his arms in a showboating style. As usual, she just rolled her eyes at his antics.

"What, am I bugging you?" he trilled happily. She slammed her palm on her face with a groan.

"Seriously?"

His grin just got wider.

"You know what they say about ladybugs? They make the garden pretty." She pretended to ignore him, which only made him laugh.

"Focus!" she snapped in jest, looking down from their perch near the top of the Eiffel Tower. "The challenge is to get from here, to the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, and Notre Dame before coming back here. The first one to get back here wins. Got it?"

He nodded, unable to get the grin off his face.

"Ready?" she asked, poised to jump.

"Whenever you are, my little black kitten."

She shot him a smirk over her shoulder at his nickname for her, eying his black-spotted red suit with a glimmer of appreciation.

"Try to catch me then, my pretty little bugboy."

* * *

**FIN**

* * *

_Author:_

_Glances up from her computer monitor for the first time in 31 days, feeling sort of like Genie in Aladdin with the crick in her neck. Looking around she blinks. Did a tornado go through this house? Holy moly. She frowns, mind blurry with the events of the last month, somewhat unable to decipher reality from her fantasy adventure. Hopefully, she remembered to feed the children somewhere in there. ….. _

_Seriously, though, this has been one of the most rewarding challenges I've ever done. I needed to have time to selfishly cave into my creative side - something I haven't done in a long, long time. I loved every minute of it, even when I found myself staring at the prompt of the day and wondering how I could possibly make them work with the story. _

_A huge thank you to each and every one of you for reading my story. To those who started at the beginning of the month and followed along, leaving me feedback every day - thank you for keeping me encouraged and motivated to keep at it. To those who jumped in at the middle or near the end and binge read it all - thank you for doing that and letting me know! I know the amount of time that binge reading requires and I appreciate you considering this story worth that commitment. To those who read it after it was finished - thank you for joining in! _

_I love to write. And I have so many ideas for stories bubbling around in my head. I will keep writing but for now, I need a break. 31 days in a row and over 60,000 words was a lot. I should probably clean the house and do some of this ignored work to-do list, along with spending some quality time with my kids. _

_I've posted a preview of my next story - Wild. My goal is to (casually) chip away at the missing pieces of that story during June and begin posting chapters in July. I hope you will join me then. _

_Thank you to this fandom for being amazing. 3 _


	33. The Prompts & The Books

I was asked if I could include a list of the stories covered through this fanfiction. Here you go.

Prompts: post/184556666864/australet789-here-it-is-with-the-help-of-the

No Powers  
Greek AU - The Odyssey  
Kittens  
Birthday - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory  
Cooking / Baking  
Adoption / Family  
Roommates  
Mittens for Kittens  
Ice Skating  
Victorian AU  
Mask Ball  
Post Reveal  
Villain  
Angst  
Found  
Ghosts  
Rooftop Save  
Balcony  
Flowers  
Pranks  
Cold Night  
Sick  
Pillows and Blankets  
Nap Lap  
Puss in Boots  
Fencing  
Protecting You  
Secrets  
Werecat  
Hunt / Prey  
Supernatural

Books:

The Odyssey - Homer  
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl  
Mother Goose (The Three Little Kittens)  
Sherlock Holmes (Not a specific story) - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle  
Divergent / Insurgent - Veronica Roth  
The Phantom of the Opera - Gaston LeRoux  
Romeo and Juliet - William Shakespeare  
The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis  
Puss in Boots - Charles Perrault  
Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets - J. K. Rowling  
The Hardy Boys (Not a Specific Story) - Franklin W. Dixon  
Lord of the Rings (Not a Specific Story) - J.R. Tolkien

Stops and mentions during chapter 30:

The Giver - Lois Lowry  
Moby Dick - Herman Melville  
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan  
Anne of Green Gables - Lucy Maud Montgomery  
Charlotte's Web - EB White  
The Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engle  
The House on Plum Creek - Laura Ingalls Wilder

And a nod to The Princess Bride by William Goldman.


End file.
